WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump's bombardment of three sites in Iran quickly sparked debate in Congress over his authority to launch the strikes, with Republicans praising Trump for decisive action even as many Democrats warned he should have sought congressional approval.
''Well done, President Trump,'' Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina posted on X. Alabama Sen. Katie Britt called the bombings ''strong and surgical.'' The Senate Armed Services Committee chairman, Roger Wicker of Mississippi, said Trump ''has made a deliberate — and correct — decision to eliminate the existential threat posed by the Iranian regime.''
The instant divisions in the U.S. 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 U.S. 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.
''This was a massive gamble by President Trump, and nobody knows yet whether it will pay off,'' said Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Democrats, and a few Republicans, said the strikes were unconstitutional, and demanded more information in a classified setting. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said that he received only a ''perfunctory notification'' without any details, according to a spokesperson.
''No president should be allowed to unilaterally march this nation into something as consequential as war with erratic threats and no strategy,'' Schumer said in a statement. ''Confronting Iran's ruthless campaign of terror, nuclear ambitions, and regional aggression demands strength, resolve, and strategic clarity.''
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said that Trump ''misled the country about his intentions, failed to seek congressional authorization for the use of military force and risks American entanglement in a potentially disastrous war in the Middle East.''
The quick GOP endorsements of stepped up U.S. involvement in Iran came after Trump publicly considered the strikes for days and many congressional Republicans had cautiously said they thought he would make the right decision. The party's schism over Iran could complicate the GOP's efforts to boost Pentagon spending as part of a $350 billion national security package in Trump's ''big, beautiful'' tax breaks bill, which is speeding toward votes next week.