By Mary Clare Jalonick and Joey Cappelletti
Washington (AP) As some lawmakers criticize President Donald Trump’s decision to bomb three Iranian nuclear installations and whether the strikes were ultimately successful, senators are scheduled to meet with top national security officials on Thursday.
The Senate is slated to vote this week on a resolution that would need congressional approval if Trump were to authorize another strike on Iran, which coincides with the confidential briefing that was initially planned for Tuesday.
Some Republicans and Democrats have argued that the White House overreached itself by without consulting Congress. Additionally, they are interested in learning more about the intelligence that Trump used to justify the assaults.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Tuesday that it was absurd that the Senate and House briefings were delayed, saying that senators should have complete openness and that the administration is legally required to tell Congress exactly what is going on. Members of the House will now receive a similar briefing on Friday.
The senators are anticipated to receive briefings from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe. Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, is not anticipated to attend the briefing on Tuesday.
According to two persons familiar with the study, a preliminary U.S. intelligence assessment revealed that Iran’s nuclear program had only been delayed by a few months, which runs counter to claims made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump regarding the state of Iran’s nuclear facilities. They talked on condition of anonymity and were not permitted to address the issue in public.
Decide for yourself if you want to describe it as destroyed, defeated, or demolished. Hegseth stated during a Pentagon briefing on Thursday that this attack was a historically successful one.
Gabbard and Ratcliffe issued statements on Wednesday that supported Trump’s assertions that the facilities had been totally and totally destroyed. “New intelligence confirms what @POTUS has stated numerous times: Iran’s nuclear facilities have been destroyed,” Gabbard wrote on social media.
According to her, it would probably take years for the Iranians to rebuild the three facilities.
In a CIA statement, Ratcliffe said that Iran’s nuclear program had suffered significant harm. He highlighted fresh intelligence indicating numerous important Iranian nuclear facilities had been damaged and would require years to rebuild, according to a historically accurate and dependable source.
The majority of Republicans have supported Trump and applauded the provisional ceasefire he mediated in the conflict between Iran and Israel. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, even went so far as to question whether the War Powers Act, which gives Congress a say in military action, is constitutional.
In the end, Johnson reminded reporters, the president is the commander in chief, the military answers to the president, and the president has the authority to act on behalf of the country.
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But the strikes and the possibility of U.S. involvement in a protracted Middle East conflict have unnerved several Republicans, including some of Trump’s most ardent backers.
Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, stated, “I believe the speaker needs to review the Constitution.” Furthermore, I believe there is ample evidence that our Founding Fathers opposed presidents going to war on their own initiative.
Paul remained silent on whether he would support Sen. Tim Kaine’s (D-Va.) bill requiring congressional approval before taking particular military action in Iran. Republicans have a 53-47 advantage in the Senate, and the resolution need a simple majority to pass.
“I will receive multiple Republican votes,” Kaine declared. However, I’m not sure if it’s two or ten.
In 2020, Kaine wrote a similar resolution that sought to restrict Trump’s ability to use force against Iran. The resolution was approved at the time by eight Republicans in addition to Democrats.
Before the briefing, Kaine told The Associated Press, “I think I have a chance to get some votes from people who are glad that President Trump did this over the weekend, but they’re saying, okay, but now if we’re really going to go to war, it should only have to go through the Congress.”
Trump sent congressional leaders a brief letter on Monday, which served as his official notice of the strikes, which took place Saturday between 6:40 and 7:05 p.m. EDT, or about 2:10 a.m. on Sunday in Iran, even though he did not ask for approval.
The letter claimed that by destroying Iran’s nuclear program, the strike was carried out to further important American national interests and to protect Israel, our partner.