The Trump administration held a closed-door briefing with congressional leadership on Monday to answer questions about its next steps in Iran. Top officials also publicly addressed many of those questions for the first time since launching “Operation Epic Fury” alongside Israel over the weekend. Before briefing lawmakers in the “Gang of 8,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that Iran posed an imminent threat to U.S. forces in the Middle East. He argued that waiting to act would have resulted in more damage.”We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action. We knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces, and knew that if we didn’t preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties,” Rubio said. Earlier Monday, President Donald Trump said the operation was initially expected to last four to five weeks. He said that the U.S. has the “capability to go far longer than that,” but added that the operation is “ahead of schedule” so far.”To the media outlets and political left screaming ‘endless wars.’ Stop. This is not Iraq. This is not endless,” said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who the Trump administration has rebranded as the secretary of war.Rubio emphasized that the Trump administration’s goal is not regime change, but he said “we might” play a role in what government comes next in Iran.“We will see how circumstances play out,” Rubio said. Trump has urged the Iranian people to take over their government. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in Israeli strikes on Saturday. The Trump administration says its objectives are to destroy Iran’s navy and its missile program, while preventing Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, so that the future regime cannot threaten America and its allies.The Pentagon said additional U.S. troops could be deployed, but declined to provide specifics. Officials are not ruling out sending American ground troops into Iran down the road. “We believe our objective can be achieved without ground forces. We are not postured for ground forces, but the president has those options, and he is never going to rule anything out,” Rubio said. Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, was unconvinced after Monday’s classified briefing. “There was no imminent threat to the United States of America by the Iranians. There was a threat to Israel,” Warner said. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the operation a “war of choice” and questioned the administration’s exit strategy. “I found their answers completely and totally insufficient. In fact, at least to me, that briefing raised many more questions than it answered,” said Schumer, who didn’t take questions following brief remarks.Many Democrats have argued that the operation was illegal and should have been approved by Congress. House Speaker Mike Johnson said the operation was within the president’s authority and didn’t require a declaration of war because it was “defensive in nature.” “The commander-in-chief is presiding over the completion of an operation that was limited in scope, limited in its objective, and absolutely necessary for our defense. I think that operation will be wound up quickly,” Johnson told reporters. The Trump administration is slated to brief the full House and Senate on Tuesday, as lawmakers prepare to vote on a war powers resolution that would limit the president’s ability to launch additional strikes on Iran without congressional approval. Its chances of passage, so far, appear slim.
The Trump administration held a closed-door briefing with congressional leadership on Monday to answer questions about its next steps in Iran.
Top officials also publicly addressed many of those questions for the first time since launching “Operation Epic Fury” alongside Israel over the weekend.
Before briefing lawmakers in the “Gang of 8,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that Iran posed an imminent threat to U.S. forces in the Middle East. He argued that waiting to act would have resulted in more damage.
“We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action. We knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces, and knew that if we didn’t preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties,” Rubio said.
Earlier Monday, President Donald Trump said the operation was initially expected to last four to five weeks. He said that the U.S. has the “capability to go far longer than that,” but added that the operation is “ahead of schedule” so far.
“To the media outlets and political left screaming ‘endless wars.’ Stop. This is not Iraq. This is not endless,” said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who the Trump administration has rebranded as the secretary of war.
Rubio emphasized that the Trump administration’s goal is not regime change, but he said “we might” play a role in what government comes next in Iran.
“We will see how circumstances play out,” Rubio said.
Trump has urged the Iranian people to take over their government. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in Israeli strikes on Saturday.
The Trump administration says its objectives are to destroy Iran’s navy and its missile program, while preventing Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, so that the future regime cannot threaten America and its allies.
The Pentagon said additional U.S. troops could be deployed, but declined to provide specifics. Officials are not ruling out sending American ground troops into Iran down the road.
“We believe our objective can be achieved without ground forces. We are not postured for ground forces, but the president has those options, and he is never going to rule anything out,” Rubio said.
Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, was unconvinced after Monday’s classified briefing.
“There was no imminent threat to the United States of America by the Iranians. There was a threat to Israel,” Warner said.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the operation a “war of choice” and questioned the administration’s exit strategy.
“I found their answers completely and totally insufficient. In fact, at least to me, that briefing raised many more questions than it answered,” said Schumer, who didn’t take questions following brief remarks.
Many Democrats have argued that the operation was illegal and should have been approved by Congress. House Speaker Mike Johnson said the operation was within the president’s authority and didn’t require a declaration of war because it was “defensive in nature.”
“The commander-in-chief is presiding over the completion of an operation that was limited in scope, limited in its objective, and absolutely necessary for our defense. I think that operation will be wound up quickly,” Johnson told reporters.
The Trump administration is slated to brief the full House and Senate on Tuesday, as lawmakers prepare to vote on a war powers resolution that would limit the president’s ability to launch additional strikes on Iran without congressional approval. Its chances of passage, so far, appear slim.
