Some Pa., Del., N.J. lawmakers call for invoking the 25th Amendment in response to Trump’s Iran threat and deadline

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President Donald Trump on Tuesday morning threatened to strike Iran’s power plants and civilian infrastructure if there is no deal reached to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by his 8 p.m. deadline.

“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will.”

His ultimatum to strike Iranian infrastructure comes on the heels of heightening tensions in the region as the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran enters its sixth week.

While the president has previously threatened Iran with escalation, Tuesday’s warning drew widespread condemnation from Democratic lawmakers in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.

U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Montgomery County, called for the invocation of the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office.

“Trump is threatening war crimes, forcing the entire globe to wait and wade in his madness,” Dean said in a post on X. “He is unhinged and unwell.”

U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Chester County, said the president’s words are “vile” and “hateful.”

“In the strongest terms possible, I condemn these despicable words,” Houlahan said in a post on X. “Commanding our military to annihilate the entire country of Iran would be the epitome of an illegal order and a betrayal of 249 years of American excellence, diplomacy and alliance.”

U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Delaware County, said Trump’s threats “to commit war crimes and genocide against the Iranian people have reached a new low that no American of conscience can overlook.”

“Congress should immediately return to DC, and Congress and the cabinet should use every tool at our disposal to end this unauthorized war and hold to account this president and those who have enabled him,” Scanlon said in a post on X.

U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Philadelphia, said in a post on X that Trump is engaging in “deranged behavior.” U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans categorized the president’s post as a “direct call for war crimes.”

“Any congressional Republican who remains silent is complicit,” Evans said in a post on X. “GOP majority leadership must bring Congress back to DC NOW and rein in Trump’s warmongering. Enough is enough.”

Though not speaking to the topic of Trump’s Truth Social post, U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pennsylvania, on Tuesday posted a snippet from his guest appearance on the Reaganism podcast from the Ronald Reagan Institute, where he praised Operation Epic Fury as “extraordinarily successful.”

“Iran has been the world’s largest state sponsor of terror for decades,” McCormick said in a post on X. “It must never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon or the missiles to deliver.”

A spokesperson for McCormick did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding McCormick’s thoughts on Trump’s ultimatum. A spokesperson for U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pennsylvania, who has also been previously supportive of the war, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

U.S. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Delaware, rejected any notion that Trump is projecting “strength” on the international stage.

“Intentionally destroying the power, water, or basic infrastructure upon which tens of millions of civilians depend to punish the very civilians who suffer at the hands of the Iranian regime, would constitute a war crime, a betrayal of the values this nation was founded on, and a moral failure,” Coons said in a post on X.

U.S. Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester accused Trump of further risking U.S. national security and the lives of troops.

“The president started this war without the support of the American people,” Blunt Rochester said in a post on X. “Republicans in Washington must put partisan loyalty aside and join us to bring this war to an end.”

U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride, D-Delaware, likened Trump’s actions — which she deemed the most appalling of Trump’s career — to yelling “fire” in a crowded theater.

She said that, for his threats, Congress should hold Trump accountable under the law.

“Trump must go—and Republicans, whether in the Cabinet or Congress, must join Democrats in using any and all constitutional powers at our collective disposal to end this illegal war and take the gun out of this madman’s hands,” McBride said in a post on X.

U.S. Sen. Andy Kim, D-New Jersey, called for Congress to convene to “condemn” Trump’s rhetoric.

“We must prevent Trump from unleashing the catastrophic and illegal violence he is touting,” Kim said in a post on X.

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-New Jersey, said Trump’s escalation is “reckless,” “unconstitutional” and “dangerous.”

“Right now, the world is holding its breath – watching, waiting, with many fearing what comes next,” Booker said in a post on X.