Democrat lawmakers are lining up to call for President Donald Trump's impeachment after his decision to launch the Operation Midnight Hammer trio of attacks on Iran's top nuclear facilities, claiming his actions were "unconstitutional."
"The President's disastrous decision to bomb Iran without authorization is a grave violation of the Constitution and Congressional War Powers," Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., declared on social media shortly after Trump announced the attack Saturday night. "He has impulsively risked launching a war that may ensnare us for generations. It is absolutely and clearly grounds for impeachment."
Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill., also called Trump's bombing of the Iranian nuclear sites without the approval of Congress an "unambiguous impeachable offense."
"This is not about the merits of Iran's nuclear program," he said on X. "No president has the authority to bomb another country that does not pose an imminent threat to the US without the approval of Congress."
He acknowledged that Democrats don't have the votes to impeach Trump.
"I'm saying that you DO NOT do this without Congressional approval, and if [Speaker Mike] Johnson] doesn't grow a spine and learn to be a real boy tomorrow, we have a BFing problem that puts our very Republic at risk," Casten said.
He added that Trump's claims of the Iran sites posing an "imminent threat" is a "gray area."
Sometimes presidents need to protect the homeland quickly, said Casten, but claimed that "this was not that."
However, Casten didn't deny that Iran posed a nuclear threat, adding that the Fordo facility in particular "had enriched significant volumes of weapons-grade material."
"But they did not have it mounted on a weapons system that could have hit Israel between now and when Congress is back in session next week or before we could schedule a F-ing Zoom call," he said.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., also called Trump's strikes "grossly unconstitutional."
"I am not open to the idea that Congress cedes all authority to the executive branch, no matter how many lickspittle sycophants in the GOP argue to the contrary," he said.
Rep. Val Demings, D-Fla., also railed against the strikes.
"The President does not have the authority to start a war with Iran at the expense of the American people without congressional approval," she posted on X. "The American people were not in 'imminent danger.' To say so is an outright lie. Congress, where are you? The American people deserve better."
Meanwhile, Intel Committee ranking member Jim Himes, D-Conn., accused Trump of exceeding his presidential authority, adding that he did not have notice of the attacks as other members of Congress had.
"According to the Constitution, we are both sworn to defend," said Himes on X. "My attention to this matter comes BEFORE bombs fall. Full stop."
The congressman is a member of the Gang of Eight, including the majority and minority party leaders and top members of the intelligence committees in both branches of Congress.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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