Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware Democrats in Congress decry U.S. attacks on Iran: ‘Americans do not want war’

From Philly and the Pa. suburbs to South Jersey and Delaware, what would you like WHYY News to cover? Let us know!

Democrats across the tristate area are saying U.S. military attacks on Iran are leading the country into another unwanted foreign conflict, while Republicans in the region are largely supporting the effort as a necessary step to topple an authoritarian regime.

In a video posted early Saturday morning, President Donald Trump announced the joint “massive and ongoing operation” with Israel.

“Bombs will be dropping everywhere,” Trump told the Iranian people in the address. “When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations.”

The operation comes after weeks of heightened tensions between the Trump administration and the Iranian government over the country’s nuclear program and treatment of protesters. Another round of negotiations ended Thursday with no deal in place as U.S. warships flocked to the Middle East.

The Department of Defense announced Saturday morning the military action as “Operation Epic Fury.”

“The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost, and we may have casualties,” Trump said. “That often happens in war.”

Israeli strikes on Iran’s capital city of Tehran fell near the office of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state-run media has reported that 85 students have been killed and 60 others injured in missile strikes at a girls’ school.

Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan have all said they’ve intercepted missiles fired from Iran targeting U.S. military bases located in their countries.

Most Democratic elected officials have condemned the attacks, with some saying Trump required Congress’ approval to launch the military operation.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said in a post on X that Trump “acted unilaterally — without Congressional approval and outside of the guardrails set up by our founders in Philadelphia nearly 250 years ago.”

But the governor also expressed his disdain for Iranian leadership, writing that the country “represses its own people and is the leading state sponsor of terrorism around the world — they must never be allowed to possess nuclear weapons.”

Shapiro and other Democrats have previously shown support for Israel’s military operations, facing criticism for their backing of the Israeli Defense Force’s strikes in Gaza.

However, he said that the Trump administration joint military action with Israel in Iran does not demonstrate “that we have a clear plan with this mission — and by taking unilateral action, without a broad coalition of international partners, he is putting our brave servicemembers at greater risk and undermining our national security interests.”

New Jersey Sen. Andy Kim also criticized Trump for not seeking approval from Congress in a post on X, and called for a vote on Sen. Tim Kaine’s War Powers Resolution, which would curtail the president’s ability to order military operations without congressional approval.

“Americans don’t want to go to war with Iran,” Kim said. “By launching strikes, President Trump has made the same dangerous and foolish decision President Bush did a generation ago. He put Americans in harm’s way without clearly showing there’s an imminent threat to our national security.”

Fellow New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker wrote in a post on X that he also shares concerns about Iran’s regime, saying that it “has armed and supported terrorist proxies who have killed tens of thousands” and “has brutalized its own people, killing thousands in recent weeks.”

However, he said that “none of these facts suspend our Constitution or confer upon any president the authority to unilaterally wage war,” adding that “Congress must reassert its constitutional role.”

U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Chester County, said in a post on X that although “Iran is a very bad actor on the world stage … the American people have not been given any evidence of an appreciable change, and Congress did not authorize any action.”

“Trump promised Americans no new wars,” state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, D-Philadelphia, said in a post on X. “Every word out of his damn mouth is a lie.”

U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Delaware County, said in a post on X that Trump has “done nothing” to prove that the military action will make Americans safer.

“The people of Iran deserve peace and democracy, but the United States must support these goals without plunging our nation into another endless war,” Scanlon said.

U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans, D-Philadelphia, joined Kim in calling for a vote on the War Powers Resolution “to stop Trump’s reckless warmongering.”

“After claiming last June he ‘completely and totally obliterated’ Iran’s nuclear program, President Trump launched yet another illegal, ill-conceived attack on Iran,” Evans said in a statement. “These escalations only put American lives, at home and abroad, at greater risk and drag our country towards another endless war.”

In a post on X, U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Montgomery County, called the military operation in Iran the result of “the erratic decision-making of an irrational President.”

“Americans do not want war,” Dean said. “Americans do not want to send their sons and daughters into foreign conflict. Americans do not want to live in fear of an ever-escalating, volatile situation.”

In a statement, U.S. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., lambasted the military action as “a reckless new war of choice with no clear strategy and no clear end point.”

“‪This is not how a democracy goes to war,” Coons said. “Less than five years after the end of the longest war in American history, the United States is once again staring down another open-ended conflict with a hostile country in the Middle East that could cost the lives of many American service members.‬”

U.S. Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., said in a statement that Trump’s “reckless actions demonstrate a troubling lack of clear foreign policy strategy” and also called for a vote on the War Powers Resolution.

“He has inched us closer to war on a whim and the last thing we need is another open-ended war in the Middle East,” she said. “Escalation without a clear strategy risks putting Americans in harm’s way and sets a dangerous precedent, signaling to adversaries like China and Russia that there are no consequences to aggression.”

U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., said in a post on X that he is praying for “our brave troops and our steadfast allies who stand with us during this challenging and noble mission.”

“The president has given the ayatollahs a chance for a deal, and they have rejected a path to peace and prosperity,” McCormick said.

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., joined Republicans in praising the operations.

“President Trump has been willing to do what’s right and necessary to produce real peace in the region. God bless the United States, our great military, and Israel,” he said in a post on X.

In another post, he said he was a “hard no” on the War Powers Resolution, adding “My vote is Operation Epic Fury.”

Pennsylvania Treasurer and GOP gubernatorial candidate Stacy Garrity said in a post on X that she “will always stand with the brave men and women of our military who serve with strength, discipline, and honor to protect our nation.”

In a statement, U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Bucks County, tempered his description of Iran as “the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism” with a call for congressional approval of “any sustained or expanded military engagement.”

“The American people deserve clarity of mission, defined objectives, and disciplined oversight,” he said.

“We stand with the Iranian people and with Iranian-Americans in their pursuit of liberty and human rights,” he added. “We pray for the safety of our service members and for the Iranian people—and we remain steadfast in defending freedom wherever it is threatened.”

This story may be updated.

WHYY News reporter Phil Davis contributed to this story.