Criticism of the Trump administration’s strikes on Iran poured in from Democratic members of the New England congressional delegation late Saturday and Sunday, with many calling them unconstitutional, saying that only Congress has the ability to wage war.
Politicians like Senator Elizabeth Warren and Senator Ed Markey called the strikes “a horrific war of choice” and “illegal” for having a lack of congressional approval.
Warren also questioned the Trump administration’s reasoning for the attack, citing that the President said that the sites were “completely and totally obliterated,” while Vice President J.D. Vance said the intent is to, “permanently dismantle that nuclear program over the coming years.”
“Which is it?” she said Sunday on X. “Sounds like more endless war against the will of the American people.”
President Donald Trump’s bombardment of three sites in Iran quickly sparked debate in Congress over his authority to launch the strikes. While Democrats have lambasted him for his decision, many Republicans have praised him including Massachusetts Republican Party Chair Amy Carnevale who congratulated him for “making the tough decision to use military force to ensure that Iran will never be capable of carrying out widespread nuclear destruction.”
“It is worth noting that the nuclear capabilities of Iran were allowed to flourish in no small part due to poor deals made under our own former Sen. John Kerry,” Carnevale said on the social media platform X.
The instant divisions in the US Congress reflected an already swirling debate over the president’s ability to conduct such a consequential action without authorization from the House and Senate on the use of military force. While Trump is hardly the first US president to go it alone, his expansive use of presidential power raised immediate questions about what comes next, and whether he is exceeding the limits of his authority.
Most Democrats have maintained that Congress should have a say, even as presidents in both parties have ignored the legislative branch’s constitutional authority. The Senate was scheduled to vote soon on a resolution from Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine that would require congressional approval before the US declares war on Iran or takes specific military action.
On Saturday night, Warren called the strike “a horrific war of choice.”
“Only Congress can declare war — and the Senate must vote immediately to prevent another endless war,” Warren said.
Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey said in a statement that Saturday’s attack may set back Iran’s nuclear ambitions, but added that not only can the country “rebuild its program,” it “will now be highly motivated to do so.”
“A diplomatic solution remains the best way to permanently and verifiably prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon,” Markey said.
Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, called the strike a massive gamble.
“Nobody knows yet whether it will pay off,” he said.
House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, a Democrat from Revere, said Sunday morning that President Trump violated the Constitution by ordering air strikes against Iran with Congressional approval.
“The power to declare war resides solely with Congress. Donald Trump’s unilateral decision to attack Iran is unauthorized and unconstitutional,” Clark wrote in a post on X.
Representative Lori Trahan, a Lowell Democrat, said that President Trump’s decision to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities threatened to undermine years of anti-nuclear diplomacy and drag the US into “another costly, endless war in the Middle East.”
“Acting without the consent of Congress, without a clear strategy, and without the backing of our allies puts American lives at risk and risks further destabilizing an already volatile region,” Trahan said in a post on X.
Vermont Senator Peter Welch suggested that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was using the threat of Iran as a means of “dragging us into another forever war in the Middle East.”
“President Trump’s decision to strike Iran doesn’t make America safer, it puts us in danger,” he wrote on social media.
Several Democratic Massachusetts representatives also condemned the attacks, including Ayanna Pressley, who wrote that “Congress must act immediately to rein in Trump” and protect civilian lives, and Katherine Clark, who said the strikes endangered US diplomats and service members in the region.
Representative Jake Auchincloss, a Newton Democrat, took a different tone, calling on Iran to end its nuclear program and to stop “funding terrorists.”
However, the Marine Corps veteran also said that Congress should revoke the war authorization given to the executive branch shortly after the September 11, 2001, attacks “so that the American public can get an open & thorough debate on war-making.”
Representative Jim McGovern of Worcester called on Congress to return to Washington “at once” to vote on a war powers resolution advanced by Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, that would prevent further US military action.
Yet, Mike Kennealy, who is running for Governor of Massachusetts for the Republican Party, applauded the nuclear site airstrikes.
“President Trump made the right decision to prevent Iran, the world’s leading sponsor of terror, from obtaining nuclear weapons,” Kennealy said on X.
“Trump is illegally dragging us into war in the Middle East,” he wrote on the social media platform X. “Have we not learned our lesson!?!?”
Camilo Fonseca can be reached at camilo.fonseca@globe.com. Follow him on X @fonseca_esq and on Instagram @camilo_fonseca.reports. Hayley Kaufman can be reached at hayley.kaufman@globe.com. Follow her @GlobeHayleyK. Jason Margolis can be reached at jason.margolis@globe.com.