The Republicans voicing dissent against Trump's strikes on Iran
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here Before yesterday's military operation targeting nuclear enrichment sites in Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan, rifts were beginning to form within the party over the prospect of the US joining Israel to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. Trump had campaigned for his second term opposing US involvement in the Middle East, promising to adopt an "America first" approach if elected for a second term. President Donald Trump speaks after the US military struck three Iranian nuclear and military sites. (AP) He had also previously criticised the then-president Barack Obama, posting to social media that he would start a war with Iran because of his "inability to negotiate properly" and to "save face". Last week, Trump indicated Iran would have two weeks before he decided on whether to support Israel's efforts in Iran, but broke his own deadline after announcing the US had completed a "spectacular military success" in Iran. Within minutes of the news, strong condemnation began to roll in. Kentucky Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, who has been leading a War Powers Resolution to prevent the US from becoming involved in another Middle East war in a rare cross-party alliance with California Democrat Congressman Ro Khanna, criticised the strikes as unconstitutional. "Congress has the sole authority to authorise war. Speaker Mike Johnson should bring our resolution to the floor for a vote immediately," he said on X. Georgia's Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a far-right conservative and staunch Trump supporter, opposed the country's involvement. "Every time America is on the verge of greatness, we get involved in another foreign war," she said on X. "There would not be bombs falling on the people of Israel if Netanyahu had not dropped bombs on the people of Iran first. Israel is a nuclear-armed nation. Ohio Republican Warren Davidson said it was "hard to conceive a rationale that's constitutional". He later questioned when Congress would be weighing in on the matter. Trump, however, insisted he had the full support of the Republican Party. "Great unity in the Republican Party, perhaps unity like we have never seen before," he said on Truth Social. Thomas Massie (left) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (right). (AP) Democrats have condemned the President for ordering the strikes without approval from Congress, which they say went against Article I of the Constitution. "President Trump came into office promising to 'end the endless foreign wars.' Tonight, he took steps that could drag the United States into another one, without consulting Congress, without a clear strategy, without regard to the consistent conclusions of the intelligence community, and without explaining to the American people what's at stake," Democratic Virginia Senator Mark Warner said on X. "The Constitution makes clear that the power to authorise war lies with Congress." New York Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez went further to claim that Trump's strikes were "grounds for impeachment". But one of the top Republicans in Congress, House Speaker Mike Johnson, said Trump had evaluated that the "imminent danger outweighed the time it would take for Congress to act". "The President fully respects the Article I power of Congress, and tonight's necessary, limited, and targeted strike follows the history and tradition of similar military actions under presidents of both parties," he said on X. Donald Trump
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United States President Donald Trump's Republican base is divided over his decision to join Israel's assault on Iran. On Sunday morning, 125 US aircraft dropped 14 'bunker buster' bombs on three Iranian nuclear sites: Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. The strikes, which were carried out without consulting Congress, have caused some Republicans to break ranks with the president and join Democrats in criticising the move. Here's what's been said and why the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement is split on the issue: Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene is usually a steadfast supporter of Trump, even going so far as to question the integrity of the 2020 presidential election, which Trump lost to Joe Biden. However, she has broken with him to criticise the bombing of Iran. "Every time America is on the verge of greatness, we get involved in another foreign war ... This is not our fight," she's said. Kentucky congressman Thomas Massie — previously a pro-Trump Republican but not as reliable a supporter as Greene — has also been a vocal opponent of bombing Iran. On CNN's Inside Politics program, he said he was concerned that "three bombings to neutralise Iran" might be the 2025 version of "two weeks to slow the spread", referencing the COVID-19 pandemic. "This could turn into a protracted, prolonged engagement ... most of us were tired of the wars in the Middle East and Eastern Europe and we were promised that we wouldn't be engaged in another one." He argues the move is "unconstitutional" and last week introduced a motion to block the US from entering the conflict. South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham has disputed claims that Trump had acted outside his authority. "He had all the authority he needs under the constitution. They are wrong," he said on NBC's Meet the Press. Missouri senator Eric Schmitt has also expressed support for Trump, describing him as a "foreign policy realist, not an ideologue". "He has taken limited military action to achieve a crucial objective that is in the core national interest of the United States: preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons," Schmitt wrote on X. "He doesn't want another Forever War. He wants peace ... What happens now is up to Iran." Michael Green is a professor and CEO of the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney. He told SBS News there are tensions between a group supportive of Israel, which "sees the logic of taking out the nuclear weapons capability while Iran is weak", and an isolationist group that "wants no more interventions and wars". While there's division within Trump's ranks, Green stresses the group opposing Trump is a minority. It's a section within MAGA that shares an "America First" ideology and is against military interventionism, dating back to the early 1940s when they were opposed to entering the war in Europe. "There's a history to this America First movement and this isolationism on the right wing of the Republican Party that goes back to the pre-war era, and even longer, so it's always been there," he said. Green said Trump made one of the group's most vocal members, Tulsi Gabbard, director of national intelligence as an acknowledgement to that part of MAGA that "he was hearing them and was sympathetic on this interventionist stance". However, he said the majority of Republicans support Trump. Professor Wesley Widmaier, from the Australian National University's Department of International Relations, said these tensions are evident in the now-viral interview between Republican senator Ted Cruz and political commentator Tucker Carlson. In a heated exchange, Carlson quizzed Cruz's knowledge on Iran — from its population to ethnic make-up — in an attempt to highlight his ignorance about the country and more broadly question his support of Israel's war with Iran. "Not that social media is real life. I completely concede that, but that illustrates the kind of tensions within Trump's base," he said. Alongside Massie, many Democrats are calling on Trump to be held accountable by Congress, arguing it's unconstitutional to order military intervention without consulting Congress. Over the weekend, Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said "no president should be allowed to unilaterally march this nation into something as consequential as war with erratic threats and no strategy". Schumer also called on Trump to enforce the 1973 War Powers Act, which requires a president to obtain a Congressional declaration of war before committing to military action. However, interpretation of the act is debated and it contends with a constitutional designation of the president as the "commander-in-chief" of the nation's military — a power that presidents have previously invoked to justify strikes without congressional approval. Green explains that the main political issue is that Trump made the call without bipartisan support, potentially causing an issue with Democrats as well as Republicans down the line. "Not getting a vote from Congress, but consulting leadership, that's the norm," he said. "When you have a significant piece of intelligence for a military strike, the president — Republican or Democrat — informs ... the eight most prominent members of the Congress on national security — Republicans and Democrats." "Trump didn't tell anyone on the Hill. He just did it without informing Congress, and the Democrats are saying he didn't tell us. So if it goes badly, he has left himself without bipartisan support." Green said this isn't unconstitutional and previous presidents have signed off on military intervention without bipartisan support. He points to former president Barack Obama authorising a military campaign against the self-proclaimed Islamic State group in Syria in 2014 and Bill Clinton signing off on intervention, including airstrikes, in Kosovo in 1999. Although Trump's decision to act unilaterally could backfire with the Democrats and Republicans, Green is confident the president has factored that into his calculations. "I think Trump probably calculated correctly that Iran's options are limited, and so the politics would probably hold for him," he said.
