Pa. Sens. John Fetterman and Dave McCormick praise U.S. attack on Iranian nuclear sites
While many Democrats were stunned by the reported attack, Fetterman was among the first to applaud Trump for the bombing of three Iranian facilities.
Both U.S. senators from Pennsylvania praised President Donald Trump’s decision to bomb nuclear facilities in Iran on Saturday, while other lawmakers expressed shock over the U.S. directly entering another conflict in the Middle East.
While many Democrats were stunned by the reported attack, U.S. Sen. John Fetterman was among the first to applaud Trump for the attack on the three Iranian facilities.
“As I’ve long maintained, this was the correct move by @POTUS,” Fetterman wrote on X, shortly after 8 p.m. “Iran is the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism and cannot have nuclear capabilities. I’m grateful for and salute the finest military in the world.”
Fetterman, one of Israel’s staunchest allies in Washington since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack, made numerous comments during the past week in support of escalating military action against Iran, at one point encouraging Israel to target the regime’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Shortly after his initial statement, Fetterman posted three American flag emojis on X.
U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick joined his colleague in praising Trump and blaming the strikes on Iran’s “failure to make a deal” around its nuclear program.
“This is an important step toward ensuring that the world’s largest state sponsor of terror never obtains a nuclear weapon,” the Republican posted on X.
Other lawmakers on Capitol Hill, meanwhile, had mixed reactions to the bombing, a decision that Trump made without input from Congress.
Trump’s move received glowing praise from a swath of Republican lawmakers after news of the attack broke.
Democrats on Capitol Hill have been less united on the Israel-Iran conflict, though some have pushed for approval by Congress before any military intervention.
Some Democrats in the House and at least one Republican representative on Saturday called the bombing unconstitutional.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D., N.Y.), the House Democratic leader, blasted Trump for what he described as a reckless and unilateral military decision.
“President Trump misled the country about his intentions, failed to seek congressional authorization for the use of military force and risks American entanglement in a potentially disastrous war in the Middle East,” Jeffries wrote on X.
Jeffries called for a classified congressional briefing and said Trump “shoulders total responsibility” for any adverse response to the strikes.
McCormick said he too looked forward to being briefed on the strikes.