WASHINGTON — Democrats are furious with their Republican counterparts as they accuse the opposite party of withholding crucial information about President Donald Trump’s decision to launch airstrikes against Iranian nuclear sites over the weekend.
The House and Senate were scheduled to receive separate classified briefings on the strike Tuesday afternoon, but both were abruptly canceled just hours before. The Senate is now expected to meet on Thursday, while House Speaker Mike Johnson said they would meet Friday.
The briefings were canceled due to the absences of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who are both in Europe for a NATO summit, a White House official told the Deseret News. However, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., lamented the cancellation as “outrageous,” “evasive” and “derelict.”
“(Republicans are) bobbing and weaving and ducking,” Schumer said on Tuesday. “Senators deserve full transparency. … What are they afraid of?"
Schumer said the briefing could have taken place without Hegseth and Rubio, arguing the pair are “secretaries and top people and very good at political talking points.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., went further to outright accuse Republican leaders of withholding information from Congress.
“Why are Republicans hiding facts and the truth from America with respect to the possibility that their actions will drive us into another catastrophic war in the Middle East?” Jeffries said on Tuesday.
Democrats accuse Republicans of sidestepping minority party
Calls to reign in Trump’s military authority continued Monday morning after Iran conducted unsuccessful retaliatory strikes on a U.S. base in Qatar, prompting concerns the United States had inserted itself into the Israel-Iran conflict. However, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters the retaliation “was expected” and that he had been briefed on the situation beforehand.
Meanwhile, Democratic leaders accused their Republican counterparts of excluding them from classified briefings ahead of Saturday’s initial strike.
Jeffries told reporters on Monday that he asked the Trump administration to brief the Gang of Eight — a colloquial term typically used to refer to top congressional leaders — over the weekend. That briefing has still not happened, the top House Democrat said.
Jeffries accused the Trump administration of willfully ignoring the Constitution by failing to request congressional approval for the strike, urging the White House to appear before lawmakers to explain that decision.
“They’re going to have to come before Congress and explain their justification for an offensive military fight against Iran,” Jeffries said. “Yes, we can never allow Iran to become a nuclear power. And of course, Israel has the right to defend itself and we will support Israel’s security in an ironclad manner. But the Trump administration intentionally decided to ignore the aggressive diplomacy that was available to it to try to address the Iranian nuclear threat and ignore the requirements of the Constitution, and now they’ve got to explain why.”
The White House sent a message to Congress on Monday, within the 48 hour window required by the War Powers Resolution, first adopted under President Richard Nixon. The statute requires the president to consult Congress “in every possible instance” ahead of any military action, or to report to Congress within 48 hours of deploying forces if Congress did not authorize the action.
Schumer said he personally requested a classified briefing from the Trump administration to “lay out the full threat picture,” including the full scope of U.S. intelligence in the region and the timeline of the military’s response.
“Most importantly, I’ve demanded they lay out exactly what measures they’re taking — right now — to keep our servicemembers safe,” Schumer said in a statement. “The Trump administration should not make the same mistake it made this weekend by launching strikes without giving any details to Congress.”
Lawmakers debate reining in presidential authority
The anger comes as Democrats, as well as a handful of Republicans, have sought to rein in Trump’s authority over war powers, resulting in an intense debate about whether the president’s approval to launch the missile strike was constitutional.
As a result, a pair of lawmakers introduced a bipartisan War Powers Resolution last week, seeking to block Trump from approving “unauthorized hostilities” in Iran without the explicit approval of Congress. Meanwhile, the Senate is expected to consider companion legislation introduced by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., as early as this week.
The resolution itself is largely considered to be a symbolic function, particularly in the case of the Iranian conflict. The resolution would require the removal of U.S. troops from the country, although there is currently no U.S. military presence in Iran.
Still, the vote would act as a message to the Trump administration, if passed, that lawmakers do not support any military action.
However, the timing for votes on those resolutions is unclear. Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, the Republican lead on the House bill, said he’d likely not push for action if the ceasefire announced by Trump on Monday remained in effect.
Kaine, on the other hand, has indicated he wants to wait until senators receive the classified briefing to decide on the path forward.
Johnson brushed off any constitutional concerns about the weekend strike, telling reporters he does not think “this is an appropriate time for a War Powers Resolution. And I don’t think it’s necessary.”
The speaker stopped short of saying if he would block the resolution from coming to the floor, although he could try to table the measure if needed. However, Johnson went so far as to suggest he found the War Powers Resolution to be unconstitutional itself.
“Many respected constitutional experts argue that the War Powers Act is itself unconstitutional. I’m persuaded by the argument,” Johnson said. “They think it’s a violation of the Article II powers of the commander in chief. I think that’s right.”