Trump Admin’s Covert Iran Strike Ignites Bipartisan Congressional Backlash

The Trump administration’s “Operation Midnight Hammer,” a massive B-2 bomber strike on Iranian nuclear sites on Saturday, is drawing bipartisan criticism for its covert execution, bypassing congressional approval and prior notification to key Democratic lawmakers. Over 125 aircraft were mobilized, culminating in 75 precision-guided weapons hitting Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan. While Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President Vance defended the strikes as limited and targeted at nuclear weaponization, not regime change or broader conflict, the method of execution has sparked a constitutional firestorm.
Rubio stated on CBS’s “Face The Nation” that the aim was solely to “degrade and/or destroy three nuclear sites related to their nuclear weaponization ambitions.” Vance on NBC’s “Meet The Press” reiterated that the U.S. was “at war with Iran’s nuclear program,” not Iran itself, and cited the President’s authority to prevent WMD proliferation, assuring a swift resolution.
However, Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, co-author of a bipartisan War Powers Resolution, publicly rebuked the administration on “Face The Nation,” asserting the lack of an “imminent threat to the United States” and criticizing Congress for not debating the resolution before the strike. Despite Massie’s stance, he remains an outlier within his party.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, conversely, praised Trump’s decision on X, citing an “imminent danger” that justified immediate action and claiming congressional leaders were aware of the urgency. He also stated Trump respects Congress’s Article I powers. Nevertheless, top Democrats, including Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), who were deliberately kept in the dark, strongly condemned the strikes as illegal, emphasizing the heightened risk to American troops in the region and the clear violation of the War Powers Act.