WASHINGTON, D.C. – Several U.S. Democratic lawmakers concluded a confidential briefing on the war with Iran, saying that 11 days into the conflict, there is still little clarity about President Donald Trump’s legitimacy and ultimate goals.
“Frankly, I come out of this meeting feeling just as frustrated and angry as I have for the last 15 years,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal said after Tuesday’s meeting with the Senate Armed Services Committee.
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Their comments were the latest wave of criticism from Congressional Democrats, who hold minorities in the House and Senate.
Members of both houses of Congress recently voted almost unanimously for a resolution calling for an end to the war between the United States and Israel on February 28th.
But their efforts to pass a “war powers resolution” to rein in President Trump failed amid widespread Republican opposition.
Democrats recently vowed to delay proceedings in the Senate unless senior State Department and Pentagon officials testify under oath about the war.
After Tuesday’s briefing, Democrats like Blumenthal argued that the Trump administration has an obligation to be more clear about the war with the American people.
Blumenthal added that the meeting raised concerns that U.S. troops could be sent to Iraq or Iran.
“There remained more questions than answers, especially about the cost of the war,” he said.
“What concerns me most is the threat to American lives posed by the possibility of sending our sons and daughters on the ground in Iraq. We appear to be moving toward sending American troops on the ground in Iran to accomplish any of those potential objectives.”
Meanwhile, Sen. Elizabeth Warren said the Trump administration “can’t explain why we went into this war, what we’re trying to accomplish, and how we’re going to do it.”
He also noted that the cost of the military operation against Iran is high, with some estimating it to exceed $5.6 billion in the first two days alone.
Warren noted that Republicans cut health care subsidies last year to reduce federal spending, but appear to have no problem approving military spending.
“There’s no money for 15 million Americans without health care, but $1 billion a day is spent bombing Iran,” she pointed out.
Sen. Jacky Rosen told reporters that her ability to comment on the secret briefing was limited. Still, she made a brief comment to express her dissatisfaction.
“What I’m hearing is not just concerning; it’s disturbing,” she said. “And we don’t know what will ultimately happen and what their plans are. They certainly haven’t made their case.”
“On our timeline, at our choice.”
The criticism comes just days after U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth pledged to carry out the “heaviest day” of strikes since the start of the war.
As of Tuesday, the war had killed at least 1,255 people in Iran, 394 in Lebanon, 13 in Israel, six in Iraq and 14 across the Gulf.
President Trump has repeatedly said the war will not last long, but Trump administration officials have suggested changes to the schedule. For example, Hegseth said the fighting will not stop “until the enemy is completely and decisively defeated.”
“We do so by choice, based on our own timelines,” he said.
The Trump administration has also offered a variety of justifications for starting the war amid indirect negotiations with Iran over the future of its nuclear program.
President Trump has blamed Iran’s nuclear ambitions for the conflict, but Tehran denies seeking nuclear weapons, and the Trump administration has said the war was necessary to end Iran’s ballistic missile program.
Experts said available evidence does not support the Trump administration’s claims that it poses an imminent threat to the United States.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters last week that the U.S. attacked because Israel, a close ally, was planning to attack Iran, which could lead to retaliation against U.S. assets.
Mr. Rubio and Mr. Trump have since backed away from the circular argument, with Mr. Trump claiming last week that it was Iran that was planning a first strike.
Another rationale offered by the Trump administration is that the entirety of Iran’s actions since the 1979 Islamic Revolution present a threat to the United States and therefore warrant an attack.
President Trump and his administration officials have not provided any evidence for their claims.
Call for public hearings and investigations
The Democratic Party has been largely ignored since the war began. Only a handful of Republicans have joined parties on the left in trying to rein in Trump through legislative measures.
Under the U.S. Constitution, only Congress can declare war. However, the president may use military force in response to an imminent threat in cases of self-defense.
Still, there are limits to how long such operations can continue. Under the War Powers Resolution of 1973, the president must withdraw troops from unauthorized military action within 60 to 90 days or seek approval from Congress.
But Trump denied that he needed Congressional support for the military operations he has undertaken since returning to office.
Recent attacks in Iran have sparked widespread public opposition, with polls showing a majority of Americans oppose the war effort.
Earlier this week, six Democratic senators called for an investigation into the strike at a girls’ school in Minab, southern Iran. Multiple investigations indicate that the United States was involved in the attack, which killed at least 170 people, most of them children.
Last week, nearly 30 members of Congress called for an investigation into reports that U.S. military leaders used Biblical motives to justify war to their subordinates.
Some reportedly brought up “religious prophecy and apocalyptic theology” in statements to other noncommissioned officers.
Sen. Cory Booker said Monday that Democrats have “collectively agreed” to use a series of procedural mechanisms in the chamber to block Congressional business until Trump officials agree to testify under oath.
“Individual senators have tremendous power to disrupt the normal functioning of the Senate, and we also have certain privileges that we can exercise,” Booker said.
“And what we have now agreed to is that we will not allow business as usual in the Senate to continue, which appears to ignore the urgent issues that the American people are grappling with.”
