Follow us on social

51761615853_c2706a3196_b

First lethal blows, but still no unified call for war in Congress

In fact, a resistance to hawkish claims that Biden must bomb Iran is forming on both sides of the aisle

Reporting | Washington Politics

Calls for President Joe Biden to take direct military action against Iran are ratcheting up following this weekend’s drone attack in Jordan that killed three U.S. service members and wounded over 30 others.

Biden has said that “it was carried out by radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq” and vowed “to hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner our choosing.” Tehran has denied involvement in the attacks.

This is the latest major escalation in the Middle East since Hamas’s incursion into Israel on October 7, and Tel Aviv’s retaliatory war on Gaza. The Biden administration has maintained that it does not want a war with Tehran and that it continues to seek paths to de-escalation in the region — but following the first known deaths of U.S. personnel since the war in Gaza started, members of Congress are pushing for a swift response.

“The United States can and must respond to this brazen attack,” said Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), in a post on X.

“This attack on U.S. and coalition troops in Jordan — our steadfast regional partner — is an escalation, and cannot go unanswered. I support President Biden in a deliberate and proportionate response,” added Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Some Republican hawks, many of whom are long-time advocates of regime change who have been calling for an aggressive response against Tehran since October 7, went a step further, calling for a direct confrontation with Iran.

“The only thing the Iranian regime understands is force. Until they pay a price with their infrastructure and their personnel, the attacks on U.S. troops will continue,” Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), wrote in a long thread on X. “Hit Iran now. Hit them hard.”

“The only answer to these attacks must be devastating military retaliation against Iran’s terrorist forces, both in Iran and across the Middle East,” added Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) “Anything less will confirm Joe Biden as a coward unworthy of being commander in chief.”

Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), the ranking member on the Senate Armed Services committee, said that Washington must strike “directly against Iranian targets and its leadership.”

But not all members, including Republicans, want to lurch headlong into war. And not all of them think the president has the unilateral authority to do so. The administration was already conducting strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen without seeking congressional approval, drawing harsh criticism from a bipartisan host of senators and House members.

Some of those lawmakers renewed their calls over the weekend, insisting it is Congress’s responsibility to declare war.

“There is no ‘Iran is bad’ exception to the Constitution,” Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) wrote on X. “If we’re going to war, Congress must declare it.”

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), agreed, writing on X that “[b]ombing Iran would require an Act of Congress according to the Constitution.”

“Is there anyone you don’t want to bomb?,” he later added, in response to Lindsey Graham’s X thread.

Observers of the GOP say that this is evidence of a growing divide within the party on questions of foreign policy. “War with Iran is a red line. Any who advocate for it have the mark of a failed, American old guard,” Curt Mills, executive director of the American Conservative, tells RS. “On the Republican side, the choice is stark and obvious: a total rerun of the failures of the Bush years— pitted against a new party that is actually reckoning with that disaster and offering a foreign policy tailored to the interests of Americans.”

On the other side of the aisle, several Congressional Democrats are warning against further escalation.

“To the chicken hawks calling for war with Iran, you're playing into the enemy's hands—and I’d like to see you send your sons and daughters to fight," Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), an Iraq War veteran, told Reuters. "We must have an effective, strategic response on our terms and our timeline."

"We can’t allow the deaths of U.S. service members to go unanswered – but we also can’t give in to the war hawks who look for any reason to go to war with Iran. Direct confrontation with Iran will certainly lead to the deaths of more U.S. service members and could easily expand into a regional conflict," added Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.). "I urge President Biden to proceed thoughtfully and carefully with a strategic, proportional response that avoids unnecessary escalation. We also must continue to pursue a permanent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas – not only to bring all the hostages home safely and get humanitarian aid into Gaza, but also to end the war that’s emboldening Iran.”

How exactly Biden will respond remains unclear. Axios reported on Monday that top U.S. officials were discussing "significant military response," though Axios and a number of other major media outlets say that the administration is still keen to limit the potential of a wider war.

High level talks are reportedly continuing over a potential ceasefire proposal in exchange for the release of Israeli hostages. “We’re hopeful about progress, but … we should not expect any imminent developments,” said the national security council spokesperson, John Kirby, said at the White House press briefing on Friday. The Axios report from Monday noted that some Biden administration officials acknowledge that a ceasefire is a crucial piece of reducing regional tensions.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) continues to insist that a cessation of hostilities in Gaza is the only way to prevent that regional conflagration from happening, writing on X that her “calls for ceasefire have always been about saving lives - in Gaza, Israel, and the region, and preventing a larger conflict. My heart goes out to the US service members who have lost their lives, and their loved ones. This must end.”


President Joe Biden with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan (White House photo)
President Joe Biden with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan (White House photo)
Reporting | Washington Politics
Kim Jong Un
Top photo credit: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the construction site of the Ragwon County Offshore Farm, North Korea July 13, 2025. KCNA via REUTERS

Kim Jong Un is nuking up and playing hard to get

Asia-Pacific

President Donald Trump’s second term has so far been a series of “shock and awe” campaigns both at home and abroad. But so far has left North Korea untouched even as it arms for the future.

The president dramatically broke with precedent during his first term, holding two summits as well as a brief meeting at the Demilitarized Zone with the North’s Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un. Unfortunately, engagement crashed and burned in Hanoi. The DPRK then pulled back, essentially severing contact with both the U.S. and South Korea.

keep readingShow less
Why new CENTCOM chief Brad Cooper is as wrong as the old one
Top photo credit: U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Brad Cooper speaks to guests at the IISS Manama Dialogue in Manama, Bahrain, November 17, 2023. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed

Why new CENTCOM chief Brad Cooper is as wrong as the old one

Middle East

If accounts of President Donald Trump’s decision to strike Iranian nuclear facilities this past month are to be believed, the president’s initial impulse to stay out of the Israel-Iran conflict failed to survive the prodding of hawkish advisers, chiefly U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) chief Michael Kurilla.

With Kurilla, an Iran hawk and staunch ally of both the Israeli government and erstwhile national security adviser Mike Waltz, set to leave office this summer, advocates of a more restrained foreign policy may understandably feel like they are out of the woods.

keep readingShow less
Putin Trump
Top photo credit: Vladimir Putin (Office of the President of the Russian Federation) and Donald Trump (US Southern Command photo)

How Trump's 50-day deadline threat against Putin will backfire

Europe

In the first six months of his second term, President Donald Trump has demonstrated his love for three things: deals, tariffs, and ultimatums.

He got to combine these passions during his Oval Office meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Monday. Only moments after the two leaders announced a new plan to get military aid to Ukraine, Trump issued an ominous 50-day deadline for Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to a ceasefire. “We're going to be doing secondary tariffs if we don't have a deal within 50 days,” Trump told the assembled reporters.

keep readingShow less

LATEST

QIOSK

Newsletter

Subscribe now to our weekly round-up and don't miss a beat with your favorite RS contributors and reporters, as well as staff analysis, opinion, and news promoting a positive, non-partisan vision of U.S. foreign policy.