Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Calls For Trump’s Impeachment For Iran Nuclear Strike, Other Democrats Want Congress To Act

Democratic lawmakers have criticized President Donald Trump for issuing a precision strike on Iranian nuclear sites on Saturday, raising concerns about its legality regarding the president’s war powers.

The Trump Administration has defended “Operation Midnight Hammer,” which was the largest B-2 bomber strike in history, claiming the attack was an attempt to limit Iran’s nuclear capabilities and not a step toward greater involvement in the war between Iran and Israel.

“It was not an attack on Iran, it was not an attack on the Iranian people, this wasn’t a regime change move,” said Secretary of State Marco Rubio in an interview on Face The Nation. “This was designed to degrade and/or destroy three nuclear sites related to their nuclear weaponization ambitions.”

Vice President JD Vance asserted that it was well within Trump’s right to order the strike.

“The president has clear authority to act to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and the worst weapon of mass destruction of them all is nuclear,” said Vance. “Now we have a president who actually knows how to accomplish America’s national security objectives. So this is not going to be some long-drawn-out thing.”

Rep. Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) praised Trump’s decision to launch the attack.

“Leaders in Congress were aware of the urgency of this situation and the Commander-in-Chief evaluated that the imminent danger outweighed the time it would take for Congress to act,” wrote Johnson in a post to social media on Saturday. “Tonight’s necessary, limited, and targeted strike follows the history and tradition of similar military actions under presidents of both parties.”

Democrats strongly opposed Saturday’s strike, with many claiming Trump acted illegally by not seeking congressional approval.

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Arizona) condemned the president for acting irrationally.

“I would say when there’s a clear and imminent threat to U.S. citizens, to the United States, to the homeland, the commander-in-chief has a right to act; that wasn’t the case here,” said Kelly.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Virginia), who made a push last week to force a vote to restrain Trump from attacking Iran without approval from Congress, said congressional members need to be more involved moving forward following the attack.

“The [War Powers Act] says if you initiate hostilities without congressional authorization, even a single member of the House or Senate can force a vote on the Senate floor,” said Kaine. “There is no doubt that the U.S. sending this massive set of Tomahawk missiles, B-2 bombers, and bunker busters on three Iranian nuclear sites is hostilities.”

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) claimed that the president’s actions are grounds for impeachment, saying in a post to social media that Trump “has impulsively risked launching a war that may ensnare us for generations.”

As Congress returns to Washington this week, senators are expected to receive a briefing from the Trump administration on Iran on Tuesday.

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Article by Kevin Maguire