Senate GOP's Iran hawks hit the airwaves to support Trump's Saturday strike
Two of the Senate GOP's top Iran hawks — South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton — passionately defended President Donald Trump's Saturday strikes on key Iranian nuclear infrastructure as the White House looks ahead to Tehran's response.
Speaking with NBC's Kristen Welker on Sunday, Graham, who has long advocated forcefully targeting the country's nuclear capability, pushed back on the view that an assault on Iran would bear similarities to America's long, difficult war in Iraq.
'The country is in the hands of religious Nazis,' Graham said of Iran on 'Meet the Press.' 'They want to kill at the Jews. And they're coming after us. And they were set back. And to Steve Bannon and all those people, Iran is different. Nuclear weapons in the hands of the Ayatollah is a nightmare for the world.'
Republicans largely sided with the President after he announced the attacks on nuclear sites Natanz, Fordo (also known as Fordow) and Esfahan on Saturday. Even some with isolationist tendencies, Vice President JD Vance among them, are supporting the idea of targeted strikes as a means to return to the negotiating table.
But some Democrats, and a handful of Republicans, say that Trump didn't have the constitutional authority to launch the attack, and that he should have sought approval from Congress.
'We can't be the commander-in-chief,' Graham told Welker. 'You can't have 535 commander-in-chiefs. If you don't like what the president does in terms of war, you can cut off the funding. But declaring war is left to the Congress. We've declared war five times in the history of America. All of these other military operations were lawful. He had all the authority he needs under the Constitution.'
Speaking with ABC's Jonathan Karl on Sunday, Cotton insisted the White House still holds the leverage ahead of any diplomatic talks or military escalation.
'We haven't targeted the supreme leader; we haven't targeted their energy infrastructure,' he said on 'This Week.'
'We haven't targeted other critical infrastructure. That's an implicit message that Iran still has things that they hold dear that neither the United States nor Israel has struck. Iran needs to heed President Trump's warning.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Wall Street Journal
24 minutes ago
- Wall Street Journal
Trump's ‘Big, Beautiful' Bill Gets Slimmed Down in Senate
WASHINGTON—President Trump's 'big, beautiful' bill is getting smaller just as Republicans head into a crucial week, after the Senate's rules arbiter decided several controversial provisions don't qualify for the special procedure the GOP is using to bypass Democratic opposition. The tax-and-spending megabill centers on extending Trump's 2017 tax cuts, delivering on the spirit of his campaign promises to eliminate taxes on tips and overtime, and providing big lump sums of money for border security and defense. Those new costs are partially offset by spending cuts, in particular to Medicaid.
USA Today
25 minutes ago
- USA Today
Trump rips Massie over Iran strike comments, threatens to campaign for primary challenger
Massie said his "side of the MAGA base" is made up of "non-interventionists" who are "tired from all these wars." President Donald Trump lashed out at Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, a fellow Republican, over his criticism of U.S. airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear sites and threatened to campaign for the person running against him in the Republican primary next year. Soon after the military operation amid the Israel-Iran war was announced on June 21, Massie said the move was 'not Constitutional' on X. The day after the strike, Massie said it was 'a good week for the neocons and the military-industrial complex, who want war all the time" on CBS's "Face the Nation." Massie said his 'side of the MAGA base' is made up of 'non-interventionists" who are "tired from all these wars." Trump ripped into the lawmaker shortly afterward saying he was 'not MAGA, even though he likes to say he is.' 'Actually, MAGA doesn't want him, doesn't know him, and doesn't respect him,' Trump wrote on Truth Social on June 22. 'He is a negative force who almost always Votes 'NO,' no matter how good something may be.' Massie and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-California, had also introduced a resolution on June 17 to prohibit U.S. involvement in the Israel-Iran war without Congressional approval. Describing the bombings of the three nuclear sites as a 'spectacular military success' Trump called Massie a 'lightweight' congressman who was 'weak and ineffective.' The lawmaker was one of two Republicans who voted against his tax bill in the House of Representatives last month. 'He'll undoubtedly vote against the Great, Big, Beautiful Bill, even though non-passage means a 68% Tax Increase for everybody, and many things far worse than that,' wrote Trump. 'MAGA should drop this pathetic LOSER, Tom Massie, like the plague!'
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Israel says it has destroyed Iran's internal security HQ
Israel's military destroyed the headquarters of Iran's domestic policing arm, expanding its blows beyond Tehran's military and nuclear facilities as it continues to bombard its Middle East rival, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday. 'Air Force planes have just destroyed the headquarters of the Iranian regime's internal security — the central suppression arm of the Iranian dictator,' Katz wrote Wednesday in a post on social platform X, according to translation. 'As we promised — we will continue to target symbols of power and strike the ayatollahs' regime everywhere,' he continued. 'The tornado storm continues to strike Tehran.' Iran's internal security operations include the country's massive Basij Resistance Force, which polices dissent in the country. The latest target comes days after Israel launched a surprise attack on Iranian nuclear facilities and military outposts, killing several officials and scientists and setting off retaliatory attacks from Tehran. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has argued that his country's strikes are crucial to ending a nuclear threat from the Islamic republic, which has long maintained that its uranium enrichment program is meant for civilian purposes. President Trump has meanwhile edged closer toward U.S. intervention in the military conflict to back up Israel. 'I may do it, I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do,' he told reporters Wednesday. 'I can tell you this, that Iran's got a lot of trouble.' 'And they want to negotiate,' the president added, referring to talks with the U.S. to dismantle its nuclear program. 'And I say why didn't you negotiate with me before all this death and destruction.' Despite increasing pressure on Iran amid the conflict, Trump has thus far pushed back on plans to target Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei directly. The president said Tuesday Khamenei would be an 'easy target' but that there are no plans in the works to take him out — 'at least right now.' Iran on Wednesday cautioned the U.S. against intervening, with the supreme leader saying it could lead to an 'all-out war' and pledging to 'never surrender.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
