Democrats and a few Republicans let out their frustrations Tuesday with the last-minute postponement of classified briefings for lawmakers about the weekend military strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities amid media reports that leaked intelligence findings indicate the U.S. assault delayed, but did not destroy, Iran’s ability to build a nuclear weapon.
Top administration officials from the intelligence community, State Department and the Pentagon, including Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, were supposed to deliver briefings to the full House and Senate about the justification and ramifications of President Donald Trump’s decision to launch strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities.
Senate Democrats are working to build consensus among their ranks in support of a war powers joint resolution from Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., that would prohibit any offensive U.S. military attacks against Iran if Congress has not issued a declaration of war or a new authorization for use of military force. The resolution is expected to come up for a vote as soon as Thursday while a similar war powers measure in the House could be stymied by GOP leaders when it ripens for a floor vote in July.
