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Senators Lindsey Graham<\/strong> of South Carolina and Tom Cotton<\/strong> of Arkansas, both vocal Iran hawks, were quick<\/a> to praise the strikes.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can\u2019t be the commander-in-chief,\u201d Graham told NBC\u2019s Kristen Welke<\/strong>r on Sunday. \u201cYou can\u2019t have 535 commander-in-chiefs.\u201d The South Carolina senator also said Iran was in the \u201chands of religious Nazis\u201d who were \u201ccoming after us.\u201d<\/p>\n In an interview with ABC\u2019s Jonathan Karl<\/strong> on Sunday, Cotton said, \u201cIran needs to heed President Trump\u2019s warning.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe haven\u2019t targeted other critical infrastructure,\u201d Cotton said. \u201cThat\u2019s an implicit message that Iran still has things that they hold dear that neither the United States nor Israel has struck.\u201d<\/p>\n Several Democratic senators on the Armed Services Committee referred Vanity Fair<\/em> to statements criticizing Trump\u2019s escalation.<\/p>\n Ranking Democratic member Jack Reed<\/strong> of Rhode Island called the move a \u201cmassive gamble by President Trump\u201d that \u201cnobody knows yet whether it will pay off.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s easier to start wars than end them. Even though the US maintains military dominance, we are in a dangerous stage that could lead to significant instability in the region and beyond. We must be prepared for contingencies going forward,\u201d he said. \u201cI strongly urge the Trump Administration to immediately pursue restraint, diplomacy, and international engagement to prevent further bloodshed.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI expect a full, classified brief on the strikes in Iran, and the strategy and force protection plans, as soon as possible,\u201d Senator Elissa Slotkin<\/strong> of Michigan, a former CIA analyst who served three tours in Iraq, wrote<\/a> on X. \u201cWhile it\u2019s too early to know the results, a successful strike by our capable military wasn\u2019t the primary question. The real question is: what happens the day after? A strike can have major repercussions for safety and stability across the region. As someone who served in Iraq and saw up close the loss of blood and treasure over 20 years, I don\u2019t want to be embroiled in another drawn-out conflict, and neither do the American people.\u201d<\/p>\n Senator Tammy Duckworth<\/strong> of Illinois, an Iraq War combat veteran and Purple Heart recipient, didn\u2019t mince words in her statement.<\/p>\n \u201cI ran for Congress so that when the drums of war started beating in Washington again, I\u2019d be in a position to make sure that our leaders fully consider the true costs of war\u2014not just in dollars and cents, but in the sacrifices and blood of our troops,\u201d Duckworth said. \u201cThe Trump Administration illegally bombed Iran tonight, putting American troops and citizens at risk of retaliation and threatening to draw us into yet another Middle East war without Constitutionally-required Congressional approval.\u201d<\/p>\n This content can also be viewed on the site it originates<\/a> from.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n While Secretary Hegseth claimed<\/a> that Trump and the Defense Department complied \u201cwith the notification requirements of the War Powers Act,\u201d which says<\/a> the president must notify Congress within 48 hours of military action, several congressional leaders appeared to hear about the strikes at the same time as the American public.<\/p>\n As Bernie Sanders<\/strong> addressed the crowd at his \u201cFighting Oligarchy\u201d tour stop in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Saturday, a member of the audience yelled out: \u201cWe just bombed Iran!\u201d<\/p>\n Seconds later, a member of Sanders\u2019s team hurried onstage to hand him a piece of paper with Trump\u2019s announcement. According<\/a> to the Vermont senator, it was the first time he learned about the strikes. He read Trump\u2019s statement aloud, referring to the military action as \u201cgrossly unconstitutional\u201d while the room erupted in a chant of \u201cNO MORE WAR!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\nX content<\/h4>\n