CNN
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According to several people familiar with the plan, President Donald Trump and his team had kept in touch with Congressional Republicans before the strike at Iran’s nuclear facility, but they couldn’t talk about his plans until the bomb fell.
The top two Republicans in Congress, House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senator majority leader John Tune were both notified in advance of the US strike at Iran’s nuclear facility.
However, Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority leader Hicombe Jeffries received notifications just before the announcement. Senators Mark Warner and Jim Himez, top Democrats on the Senate and House Intelligence Email Committee, were no more spoken before the strike took place, sources said.
Responses to strikes have so far broken along predictable partisan lines.
Congressional Republicans were overwhelmingly behind the president after surprise as most Democrats quickly condemned his decision to launch them without Congressional approval and demanded confidential explanations.
Both Johnson and Tune revealed they would be standing by Trump within minutes, followed by dozens of GOP lawmakers who posted their support.
“Congressional leaders were aware of the urgency of this situation, and the commander evaluated the imminent danger as exceeding the time it takes for Congress to act,” Johnson wrote about X, defending Trump’s decision to move unilaterally. “The President fully respects Congress’ powers and is necessary tonight, and the limited, targeted strike follows the history and tradition of similar military action under the presidents of both parties.”
As of Saturday night, only three GOP lawmakers were publicly skeptical of Trump’s moves. One, Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massey, was expected to force a full vote in the House next week on whether to limit Trump’s war power.
The president’s airstrike on Saturday night will forcefully recharge the already tense debate in Congress over the limits of his war power, with both the House and Senate expected to win votes in the coming days.
Warner supported the Trump administration’s decision “no matter the consistent conclusions of the intelligence reporting community, without explaining what is at risk to the American people, without consulting with Congress, without a clear strategy, without a clear strategy.”
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“The American people deserve more than ambiguous rhetoric and unilateral decisions that could lead to a wider war. The President must clarify clear strategic goals before Congress, protecting America’s lives, and laying out what will make us not once again drawn into costly, unnecessary, avoidable conflicts.
His fellow Virginia Democrat, Sen. Tim Kane, confirmed he plans to force a full Senate vote to assert the role of Congress after the first introduction of a resolution calling for Congressional approval prior to the strike in Iran last week.
“I promote all senators to vote on whether it’s because of this third, ridiculous Middle East war,” Kane said in a statement, adding that the American people rely on their opposition to their involvement in the conflict.
“This is not the constitution,” said Massie, a Kentucky Republican who leads the House push, in response to Trump’s announcement of airstrikes.
Democrats are also likely to push the White House on their decision not to let their top officials know until the strike takes place.
“Eight gang” Democrats, including congressional leaders of each party and chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate Intelligence Email Committee, are usually described before important US involvement. White House officials said the administration called some members of Congress as “course heads-ups” before the strike, but did not address the partisan collapse of who was notified.
In the aftermath of the strike, many Democrats issued statements criticizing Trump for continuing the strike without Congressional approval.
While Vermont’s independent Sen. Bernie Sanders declared the action “severely unconstitutional,” Jeffries warned that US forces in the area could face retaliation from Iran as they demanded immediate classification briefings from lawmakers.
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“Donald Trump has committed to bringing peace to the Middle East. He has failed to fulfill that promise. The risk of war has now increased dramatically, and I pray for the safety of the military in the harmful region,” said Democrats in New York. “President Trump misleads the nation about his intentions, does not seek Congress’ approval for the use of military force, risking American entanglement in a potentially disastrous war in the Middle East.”
As of Saturday night, Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman was the only Congressional Democrat to praise the strike.
While most House and Senate Republicans quickly supported the strike as a “right decision” or “right move,” a minority of House conservatives warned that strikes require Congressional approval.
Rep. Warren Davidson, a former Army Ranger who had previously accused Congress of “relining power over war” since 9/11, raised questions about Trump’s authorities.
“While President Trump’s decision may just prove it, it’s hard to imagine constitutional rationale. I look forward to what he says tonight,” the Ohio Republican wrote in X.
Before Trump announced the strike, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green warned against attacking Iran in an X post. The Republican wrote.
After the strike, she added: “Let’s join together and pray for the safety of the US military and Americans in the Middle East. Let’s pray that after the borders have been open for the past four years and the acquisition of over 2 million people, we won’t be attacked by our hometown terrorists.”
CNN’s Manu Raju, Lauren Fox, Haley Britzky and Alayna Treene contributed to this report.