Democrats Ambivalent As Trump Prepares To Launch Us Into Another War

As President Donald Trump prepares to join Israel’s war on Iran, Democrats seem split on how fiercely and on what grounds to oppose military action in the Middle East, a worrying echo of how the party approached the disastrous Iraq War more than two decades ago.

Most prominent progressives are against U.S. involvement, but many in the party are staying quiet as a bipartisan push grows for a resolution that would at least theoretically disallow Trump from launching attacks on Iran until Congress gives him the green light.

“We ought to move as quickly as we can to make certain the president does not take unconstitutional action,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) told HuffPost. “It’s Congress that has the power to declare war, not the president unilaterally. And I hope members of Congress have the guts to do the right thing.”

Earlier this week, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) introduced the so-called War Powers resolution in the Senate, and a similar resolution has been cosponsored in the House by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) alongside Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), whose antiwar stance reflects an even bigger rift among Trump’s MAGA base.

Trump campaigned as the scourge of warmongers but has sounded increasingly warlike in recent days, openly musing about whether to approve a strike on Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities, which experts say could only be reached by massive bombs delivered by U.S. planes.

“I may do it, I may not do it,” Trump said outside the White House on Wednesday. “I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do.”

Many leading Democrats ― from Sanders to former Obama adviser Ben Rhodes ― are openly arguing that supporting Trump’s possible war with Iran would be repeating the mistake the U.S. made by invading Iraq in 2003. “Try standing on principle ― that’s what people are looking for substantively, politically, and morally,” Rhodes said this week.

Polling indicates a strike on Iran would be deeply unpopular with a public skeptical of U.S. military adventurism. Only 16% of American adults believe the United States should get involved in the military conflict between Israel and Iran, according to an Economist/YouGov poll released this week. A whopping 60% oppose American involvement, with 24% uncertain. Even among Republicans, just 23% want to get involved.

Israel launched its “preemptive” strikes on Iran after laying waste to the Gaza Strip for nearly two years following the deadly Hamas terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023. The Gaza siege has fueled progressive protests in the U.S. against military support for Israel. In a rare slight against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, a group of 19 Democratic and independent senators voted against sending additional weapons to Israel last fall.

“This is now defining for the Democratic Party,” Khanna told HuffPost. “Are we going to criticize the offensive weapons for Netanyahu and the blank check? Are we going to stand up with clarity against the strikes on Iran? Are we going to actually be the party of peace, or are we going to be just another party of war? And I think this is going to be litigated in 2026 and the 2028 primary.”

Some Democrats, such as Sen. John Fetterman (Pa.), say the U.S. should have Israel’s back no matter what. But a lot of Democrats seem to be in the middle, including several senators who told HuffPost they weren’t sure if they’d support Kaine’s resolution.

“There is no reason the administration cannot take a few days, if that’s their direction, to consult with Congress, advise us on their plan and the projected costs, risks to American service members, plans for evacuating U.S. citizens and the end goal,” Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) said Wednesday.

Coons said he believes Iran’s nuclear ambitions pose a threat to the U.S. and that he supports Israel’s defense. He said he is considering whether to support Kaine’s resolution.

“Taking us into war in the Middle East or Southwest Asia for the third time in 25 years is a decision of enormous consequence and cost and should not be just sort of casually fallen into after a couple of phone calls,” Coons said.

Notably, Trump’s own director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, testified in March that Iran wasn’t building a nuclear weapon ― the ostensible justification for Israel’s attack. Trump said this week he didn’t care what Gabbard had said, and Gabbard canceled a private briefing with the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Wednesday he requested an intelligence briefing from the administration. He previously said, after Israel launched strikes on Iran last week, that U.S. support for Israel’s security must be “ironclad” but that diplomacy would be the best approach.

Several Democrats said there’s no way the U.S. could just drop a few bombs on Iran’s nuclear facility without expecting Iran to retaliate, potentially pulling the U.S. into an escalating cycle of violence.

“The idea that a single run and dropping a bunker buster is going to suddenly eliminate Iran’s nuclear program is wishful thinking,” Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) told reporters.

As for his resolution barring the Trump administration from getting involved, Kaine told HuffPost it would likely come up for a vote next week and that it would likely pass. Federal law allows rank-and-file members of Congress to force votes on special war powers resolutions, which can pass the Senate with a simple majority vote.

“I have had some Republicans say that they’re likely to vote with me,” Kaine said.

Democrats control 47 Senate seats, so given Fetterman’s likely opposition, Kaine would need a decent group of Republicans to buck their leader. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), an ideological ally of Massie, declined to say if he would support the resolution. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) has said he’s not comfortable with a new war.

Even if the Senate rebukes Trump, it’s not clear if the House would go along. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Friday Massie is “on the wrong side of this.”

And even if both the House and Senate vote against war, it’s not clear if Trump — who has pushed bold visions of executive power repeatedly since becoming president for the second time — would follow the law. Sen. Pete Welch (D-Vt.) said Trump’s flirtation with a Mideast war is just his latest power grab.

“The power to declare war, the power of the budget, the power of passing laws — that belongs to Congress, not the president,” Welch told HuffPost. “Congress has been ceding its authority to the president and paying the price for it.”