Iran Strike Sparks Rifts in U.S. Congress and MAGA Base

The U.S. bombing of Iran has not only left the United States Congress divided but also has created rifts in the MAGA base.

Top Democrat leaders on the Senate and House intelligence were not informed about it, while their Republican counterparts were. The U.S. senator of Virginia, Mark Warner, and representative of Connecticut, Jim Himes, were reportedly not briefed before the attack. 

The attack, named Operation Midnight Hammer, involved 125 aircraft — including seven B-2 bombers carrying 14 bunker busters weighing three tons — and 75 Tomahawk missiles launched from the US. 

Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York said the attack is “clearly grounds for impeachment.”

"The president’s disastrous decision to bomb Iran without authorization is a grave violation of the Constitution and Congressional War Powers. He has impulsively risked launching a war that may ensnare us for generations,” she posted on X.

Democratic Representative Rashida Tlaib of Michigan said, "President Trump sending U.S. troops to bomb Iran without the consent of Congress is a blatant violation of our Constitution.”

The attacks on Iran came as most Democrats had left Washington for the Juneteenth holiday, as per reports. However, there has been criticism that the top intelligence panels were not informed.

Arizona senator Mark Kelly told NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, “He could have talked to us about what the goal is and what the plan is ahead of time.”

He added that the White House should have come to Congress and asked for authorization. “That’s the constitutional approach to this,” Kelly said. 

Chris Coons, a senior Democratic member of the Senate foreign relations committee, said last week, “Cost, duration, risk to our troops, strategy – the basics before we make a decision of this consequence.” 

The Guardian reported that Himes’s committee staff received information about the strike from the Pentagon only after U.S. President Donald Trump made the announcement on social media.

Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, who serves on both the Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, emphasized that Congress should be briefed in advance. “Congress needs to authorize a war against Iran,” he said. “This Trump war against Iran – we have not.”

The Make America Great Again (MAGA) enthusiasts are also split about the U.S. striking Iran. Marjorie Taylor Greene –  a far right congresswoman and a Trump loyalist – posted on X, before Trump announced the attacks, “Every time America is on the verge of greatness, we get involved in another foreign war. There would not be bombs falling on the people of Israel if [its prime minister Benjamin] Netanyahu had not dropped bombs on the people of Iran first. Israel is a nuclear armed nation. This is not our fight. Peace is the answer.” 

However, after the attack, she posted, “Let us join together and pray for the safety of our U.S. troops and Americans in the Middle East.”

Charlie Kirk, a right-wing influence, had said that an attack on Iran might divide MAGA. “Trump voters, especially young people, supported [him] because he was the first president in my lifetime to not start a new war,” The Guardian reported. However, in a Sunday interview with vice President J.D. Vance on Meet the Press, Kirk praised the U.S.’ bombing.

“They dropped 30,000 pound bombs on a target the size of a washing machine, and then got back home safely without ever landing in the Middle East,” Vance said in the clip. “Whatever our politics, we should be proud of what these guys accomplished.”

Steve Bannon, - the former Trump White House adviser — who has previously spoken against U.S. intervention in Iran, took a dig at Trump for thanking Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Speaking on his War Room web show, Bannon said, “It hasn’t been lost … that he thanked Bibi Netanyahu, who I would think right now – at least the War Room’s position is – [is] the last guy on Earth you should thank.”

Pete Hegseth, Trump's defence secretary, early on Sunday told the press conference that the strikes “took months and weeks of positioning and preparation so that we could be ready when the president called”.

“It took misdirection and the highest of operational security,” Hegseth added, in part referencing the earlier deployment of U.S. B-2 bombers to the Pacific island of Guam on Saturday.