Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) has expressed support for the “entirely appropriate” series of strikes against Iran.
The United States targeted the Fordow fuel enrichment plant and the Natanz and Isfahan nuclear facilities on Saturday. Trump confirmed that the three sites were “totally obliterated” by six 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs and 30 Tomahawk cruise missiles.
“I’m sure there’s gonna be a lot of people in my party that are gonna disagree with the strike in Iran. And I actually support that, and I’ve been always calling for that thing. I think it was entirely appropriate,” Fetterman said on Fox News’s America’s Newsroom Monday. “Again, there might be votes on that. So for me, that’s not a war. That was a very limited military exercise, and it struck that. That’s where we’re at. So really, what’s about unconstitutional or it’s anything like that? It’s like a very, very limited military engagement, and then it took them out.”
This could signal that Fetterman will vote against Sen. Tim Kaine’s (D-VA) resolution, which requires congressional debate and a vote before the U.S. takes offensive measures against Iran. The resolution is privileged under the War Powers Act, meaning Republicans must bring it to the floor for a vote. There is a possibility the resolution won’t be brought forward until after the July 4 recess, since such resolutions take 10 days to “ripen.”
The last time Kaine brought forth a resolution centered on Iran was in 2020, when Trump ordered a drone strike that killed Qassem Soleimani, an Iranian general at the time. Eight Republicans — Susan Collins (ME), Todd Young (IN), Jerry Moran (KS), Mike Lee (UT), Rand Paul (KY), Lisa Murkowski (AK), Bill Cassidy (LA), and former Sen. Lamar Alexander from Tennessee — sided with the Democrats in supporting the measure.
Fetterman also implied he’d be against any effort to impeach Trump. The senator referenced Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-NY) statement that the decision to strike without congressional authorization was “a grave violation of the Constitution and Congressional War Powers.” However, Fetterman pointed out that despite Trump’s past two impeachments by the House, he was still reelected for a second term.
“I don’t think that’s helpful, and I think if you throw that term around, that actually diminishes the severity of what impeachment is reserved for,” Fetterman said.
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Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL) joined the chorus calling for impeachment. Notably, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) has steered clear from such language, but demanded a classified briefing on the matter from the president “immediately.”
The Democratic senator has also already pledged to vote against Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-VT) No War Against Iran Act, legislation that prohibits using federal funds on military use in or against Iran without specific authorization from Congress. Already, there are instances when Fetterman strayed from his party this Congress, including when he nominated Pam Bondi to her post as Attorney General as the lone Democratic vote. In all, he supported nine of Trump’s Cabinet picks.