Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) on Sunday accused President Donald Trump of launching military strikes on Iran’s nuclear program without proper congressional oversight and turning the decision into a “partisan exercise” by failing to brief Democratic leaders.
“Well, the failure to brief Democratic lawmakers, the making this just another partisan exercise by the administration when it comes to something as serious as the decision to potentially engage in warfare with another nation,” Schiff said on CNN’s Face the Nation. “It means that you’re not going to have the whole country bought into this.”
Schiff said neither he nor other senior Democrats were notified before the launch of Operation Midnight Hammer, which involved 125 aircraft, including B-2 bombers, and more than 70 Tomahawk missiles targeting Iran’s uranium enrichment sites.
He warned the strike could backfire by pushing Iran to expel nuclear inspectors and “sprint” toward developing a bomb. “If it wasn’t in a sprint for a bomb, it is now going to engage in a sprint,” Schiff said. “This is not a strike that should have been ordered.”
The Trump administration has defended the operation, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth saying the strike was months in the making and driven by urgent national security concerns. Hegseth confirmed congressional leaders were informed about the strike on Iran after the military planes were “safely out” of the target area.
Schiff also questioned whether any new intelligence justified the attack, noting the administration has yet to present evidence that Iran had made a decision to build a bomb.
Schiff: “The failure to brief Democratic lawmakers, the making this just another partisan exercise by the administration when it comes to something as serious as the decision to potentially engage in warfare with another nation, it means that you’re not gonna have the whole… pic.twitter.com/nKbRt2EfZZ
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AOC AND OTHER DEMOCRATS FLOAT IMPEACHMENT AFTER TRUMP STRIKES IRAN
Some Democrats, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), have gone further, calling Trump’s unilateral action grounds for impeachment. Schiff declined to echo that sentiment, instead urging Congress to pass a war powers resolution to block further strikes without authorization.
Lawmakers are expected to receive a classified briefing this week.