WASHINGTON (AP) — Senators emerged from a labeled briefing Thursday with sharply diverging assessments of President Donald Trump’s bombing of three Iranian nuclear sites, with Republicans calling the mission a transparent success and Democrats expressing deep skepticism.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Workers, got here to Capitol Hill to offer the labeled briefings, initially scheduled for Tuesday.
Many Republicans left happy, although their assessments of how a lot Iran’s nuclear program was set again by the bombing assorted. Sen. Tom Cotton mentioned a “main blow” and “catastrophic harm” had been dealt to Iran’s amenities.
“Their operational functionality was obliterated. There may be no one working there tonight. It was extremely efficient. There’s no motive to hit these websites anytime quickly,” mentioned Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
Democrats remained uncertain and criticized Trump for not giving Congress extra data. Senate Democratic chief Chuck Schumer of New York mentioned the briefing “raised extra questions than it answered.”
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., mentioned the strike seems to “have solely set again the Iranian nuclear program by a handful of months.”
“There’s little question there was harm executed to this system,” mentioned Murphy, however “allegations that we now have obliterated their program simply don’t appear to face as much as motive.”
“I simply don’t assume the president was telling the reality when he mentioned this program was obliterated,” he added.
The session got here as senators weighed their assist for a decision affirming that Trump ought to search authorization from Congress earlier than launching extra military action against Iran. A vote on that decision might come as quickly as Thursday.
Democrats, and a few Republicans, have mentioned the White Home overstepped its authority when it failed to hunt the recommendation of Congress. Additionally they need to know extra in regards to the intelligence that Trump relied on when he licensed the assaults.
An identical briefing for Home members will probably be held Friday.
A preliminary U.S. intelligence report discovered that Iran’s nuclear program had been set again only some months, contradicting statements from Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in regards to the standing of Iran’s nuclear amenities, based on two folks conversant in the report. They weren’t licensed to debate the matter publicly and spoke on situation of anonymity.
“You need to name it destroyed, you need to name it defeated, you need to name it obliterated — select your phrase. This was an traditionally profitable assault,” Hegseth said at a Pentagon briefing Thursday.
On Wednesday, Director of Nationwide Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Ratcliffe despatched out statements backing Trump’s claims that the amenities have been “fully and totally obliterated.”
Gabbard posted on social media that “new intelligence confirms what @POTUS has said quite a few occasions: Iran’s nuclear amenities have been destroyed.” She mentioned that if the Iranians select to rebuild the three amenities, it could “probably take years to do.”
Ratcliffe mentioned in an announcement from the CIA that Iran’s nuclear program has been “severely broken.” He cited new intelligence “from a traditionally dependable and correct supply/technique that a number of key Iranian nuclear amenities have been destroyed and must be rebuilt over the course of years.”
Most Republicans have defended Trump and hailed the tentative ceasefire he brokered within the Israel-Iran conflict. Home Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., went so far as to query the constitutionality of the War Powers Act, which is meant to offer Congress a say in navy motion.
“The underside line is the commander in chief is the president, the navy reviews to the president, and the particular person empowered to behave on the nation’s behalf is the president,” Johnson instructed reporters.
However some Republicans, together with a few of Trump’s staunchest supporters, are uncomfortable with the strikes and the potential for U.S. involvement in an prolonged Center East battle.
“I believe the speaker must evaluation the Structure,” mentioned Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. “And I believe there’s plenty of proof that our Founding Fathers didn’t need presidents to unilaterally go to conflict.”
Paul wouldn’t say whether or not he would vote for the decision by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., that might require congressional approval for particular navy motion in Iran. A easy majority within the Senate is required to move the decision and Republicans maintain a 53-47 benefit.
“I’ll have Republican votes, plural,” Kaine mentioned. “However whether or not it’s two or 10, I don’t know.”
Kaine authored a similar resolution in 2020 geared toward limiting Trump’s authority to launch navy operations in opposition to Iran. On the time, eight Republicans joined Democrats in approving the decision.
“I believe I’ve an opportunity to get some votes from people who find themselves glad that President Trump did this over the weekend, however they’re saying, ‘Okay, however now if we’re actually going to go to conflict, it ought to solely should undergo the Congress,’” Kaine instructed The Related Press earlier than the briefing.
Whereas Trump didn’t search approval, he despatched congressional leaders a brief letter Monday serving as his official discover of the strikes, which occurred Saturday between 6:40 p.m. and seven:05 p.m. EDT, or roughly 2:10 a.m. on Sunday in Iran.
The letter mentioned the strike was taken “to advance very important United States nationwide pursuits, and in collective self-defense of our ally, Israel, by eliminating Iran’s nuclear program.”
Related Press writers Leah Askarinam, Matt Brown and Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.
This story has been corrected to replicate that the navy motion decision sponsored by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., requires a easy majority of the Senate, not 60 votes.
