A Republican senator blamed a “dismissive attitude” toward Congress for fueling his outburst after a classified briefing on Iran’s missile attacks on Iraqi bases that host U.S. troops.
Mike Lee, a nine-year senator from Utah, told Fox News that he called the briefing “insulting and demeaning” because of how the top Trump administration officials refused to answer questions about needing Congress to authorize the use of military force.
“We repeatedly asked them: Under what circumstances you would need to come back to us to get authority from Congress before taking action against Iran,” Lee said. “For example, what if you decided you wanted to take out the supreme leader? Would you, in that circumstance, need to come back to Congress for a declaration of war and authorization for the use of military force?”
Lee said, “Astoundingly,” the briefers, including Defense Secretary Mark Esper, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, CIA Director Gina Haspel, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, would not directly answer the question.
“I find that simply unacceptable,” said Lee, who made headlines earlier in the day when he and fellow Republican Sen. Rand Paul raged about the briefing in front of cameras.
Iran launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles at two military bases in Iraq holding U.S. troops Tuesday night, claiming the attacks were in retaliation for the killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al Muhandis in Baghdad last week.
President Trump signaled on Wednesday that he would not order fresh military action against Iran but warned that the United States would not tolerate Iranian aggression, and he promised new sanctions on Tehran.
Still, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the House will vote Thursday on a resolution limiting Trump’s military action with Iran, as Democrats believe his decision to kill Soleimani was unjustified and some have labeled an assassination.
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, a more hawkish ally of Trump, said Lee and Paul were “empowering the enemy” by playing a “game with the War Powers Act.”
Asked to respond, Lee said, “That is fundamentally antithetical to the Constitution.”
“Look, I love Lindsey Graham. He’s a fantastic guy. We work closely together on a lot of issues. He’s dead wrong in so far as he is suggesting that this is only a game,” he added.
