Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania is standing firm in his support for President Trump’s decision to approve a military operation against Iran, but said his support is “not limitless.”
Mr. Fetterman has emerged as one of the few Democrats to support the strike, which has drawn broad opposition from his party.
While most Senate and House Democrats have condemned the joint U.S.-Israel operation as unconstitutional and unauthorized by Congress, Mr. Fetterman has broken with his caucus in backing Mr. Trump’s move — a reflection of his position as one of the most steadfast Democratic supporters of Israel on Capitol Hill.
The Pennsylvania senator’s support came after the joint U.S.-Israel strike killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top government officials.
“I don’t understand why we can’t just say, thank God,” Mr. Fetterman said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “And there wasn’t any kind of outcry from parts of the left after Iran executed about 30,000 of their young people that were just simply protesting for democracy.”
Mr. Fetterman also dismissed arguments from most Democrats — and some Republicans — that Mr. Trump overstepped his constitutional authority in ordering the strike.
“If you talk about the War Powers Act, that wasn’t broken now,” he said.
Mr. Fetterman said his support is grounded in the limits spelled out in the War Powers Act, the 1973 law that requires the president to notify Congress within 48 hours of committing forces to military action.
From there, Mr. Trump has 60 days to obtain congressional authorization or begin withdrawing forces, with an additional 30-day window for safe withdrawal — giving Congress 90 days in total before it must act.
Sen. Tim Kaine and other Democrats argue that the Constitution requires congressional action on declarations of war and that it supersedes any law Congress has passed, including the War Powers Act.
Mr. Fetterman echoed concerns long raised by Republicans, saying Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons and its missile capabilities pose a serious threat to Israel and U.S. forces stationed in the region. He argued that blocking Iran from obtaining a nuclear bomb is something every senator agrees on — Mr. Trump was simply the one willing to act on it.
“President Trump was the guy willing to do that, to make sure that didn’t happen,” he said.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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