As the U.S. builds up its military presence in the Middle East — including at least 1,000 troops with the 82nd Airborne Division — many Republicans on Capitol Hill are leaving the door open to potential ground operations in Iran.
At the same time, most Republicans are deferring to President Donald Trump on whether — and how — to take that step.
Several Republicans this week said they’d support boots on the ground under certain conditions, while others sidestepped questions about whether Trump would need congressional approval for such an operation, offering some version of the same answer: it depends.
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., made it clear he wants the president to press forward.
“I think the worst possible outcome at this point in time is to leave the job unfinished and leave a regime in there that is dedicated to death of America,” Johnson said, adding he wants Trump to “finish the job.”
Others struck a more cautious but flexible tone.
“We’ve got to keep our options open,” said Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., when asked about a possible ground operation.
“I support our objectives here, which is to take away Iran’s ability to conduct terror globally,” Hoeven added.
Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., a member of the House Armed Services Committee, told MS NOW he thinks the White House would be “reluctant” to put boots on the ground, but also said he doesn’t want to “micromanage” Trump either.
“We need to make the Strait of Hormuz safe,” Bacon said. “I don’t think you want to telegraph to the Iranians what you’re willing to do or what you’re not willing to do.”
And Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., told MS NOW that while he prays it does not come down to a ground operation, he suggested there wasn’t much of a choice. “If the alternative is between having troops on the ground and allowing Iran to have a nuclear weapon, that decision is already made,” he said.
Of course, questions about the possibility of putting American troops in Iran have taken on new urgency in recent days, as the U.S. has begun to send thousands of Marines and sailors to the region. At least 1,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne are poised to be deployed, as well.
Still, even among Republicans open to military escalation, support often came with some caveats.
“It depends on what they’re doing there,” Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., told MS NOW.
Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., the vice chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, echoed Harris’ sentiment, suggesting he’d be open to the U.S. taking the crucial Iranian oil outpost of Kharg Island — but did not support a mainland invasion.
“It’s a very different story when you’re talking about an isolated island and the ability to deny your enemy their source of income and their source of fuel,” Issa said. “I think it all depends.”
But those looking for answers aren’t getting much from the administration. Exiting a classified briefing with Pentagon officials Wednesday, the top Republican on the House Armed Services offered a rare rebuke of the administration, arguing that officials are not being sufficiently “forthcoming.”
“We want to know more about what’s going on and what the options are and why they’re being considered,” Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala., told reporters. “We’re just not getting enough answers.”
Senate Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker, R-Miss. — exiting a similar briefing — offered this take when asked about Rogers’ comments: “Let me put it this way: I can see why he might have said that.”
Several Republicans also invoked an “it depends” sliding scale when asked if the president could start a ground operation without congressional approval — though many were unwilling to explicitly define what the trip wire would be to require that Congress get involved.
Asked if there’s a particular line — a small group of troops, for instance, or a larger number of soldiers — for when Congress should step in, Hoeven told MS NOW, “I can’t give you an exact formula on something like that.”
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., said simply, “The commander-in-chief has a lot of latitude.”
And Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska — when asked if the president has authority to deploy a small number of troops to, for instance, secure Kharg Island or the Strait of Hormuz — said, “I think it depends what they’re doing there.”
Murkowski, for her part, said she has been discussing what needs to be done to draft an Authorization for Use of Military Force as part of an effort to have Congress “put some contours to what we’re seeing” in the Iran conflict.
But other Republicans were far more definitive. Harris said “no,” Congress does not need to sign off for the president to put boots on the ground. Johnson echoed that sentiment. Meanwhile, Murphy argued “Congress needs to be involved” if Trump goes that route. To be sure, some Republicans were clearly uncomfortable with an unauthorized ground operation. Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, for instance, invoked his own military experience, telling MS NOW, “As a United States Marine, as somebody who has men and women who are currently deployed and we represent, yeah, it’s incredibly concerning to me.” He said to win his support for any sort of ground operation, he’d have to hear “a really, really good, sound argument” from Secretary of State Marco Rubio. And Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., told reporters Tuesday night, “I’m not going to send South Carolina’s sons and daughters to die for the price of oil in Iran. I’m not gonna do it.” She also said she’d “seriously consider” voting to constrain the president’s Iran war operations and added she would oppose the $200 billion supplemental the Pentagon is, reportedly, preparing to request from Congress “if troops are going to be on the ground.” But as the conflict drags on — with or without ground troops — Democrats are ramping up the pressure on Republicans to go on the record about the war in Iran. “The Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war,” Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., told reporters Tuesday, arguing that his GOP colleagues have so far failed to do “their core job as senators.” Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va. — who is concerned Trump may launch a ground operation in the coming weeks while Congress is on recess — says to expect Democrats to continue to force votes on war powers resolutions. (He previously spearheaded failed efforts to curtail the president’s actions in both Venezuela and Iran.) “About every week,” Kaine said, Republicans would face the same question: “Have you seen enough yet?” Thus far, the answer has been “no,” and even if Trump launched a ground attack in Iran, it’s not clear Republicans would try to constrain the president in any way. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky. — who has sponsored war powers resolutions for Iran and Venezuela — was pessimistic that his fellow Republicans would actually vote to rein in Trump. “I don’t see the math, yet,” Massie said. Mychael Schnell contributed to this report.
Kevin Frey is a congressional reporter for MS NOW.
Syedah Asghar
Syedah Asghar covers Congress for MSNBC. Recommended
