Wisconsin Congressional Delegation Reacts to Attack on Iran
Democrats call Trump's decision to wage war illegal, Republicans defend president.
U.S. Capitol. Photo by Martin Falbisoner, (CC BY-SA 3.0), via Wikimedia Commons
Wisconsin’s congressional delegation split along party lines, expressing support or outrage after Saturday’s attack on Iran by Israeli and U.S. forces that reportedly killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Here’s what they had to say.
Democratic US Sen. Tammy Baldwin
In a statement posted to social media, Baldwin said the hard work of diplomacy is the answer, not war. She said Iran poses a real threat, which America needs “to take head on, but getting into another endless war is not the answer.”
“President Trump illegally bombed Iran, totally disregarding the Constitution, putting American troops in harm’s way, and starting another war in the Middle East with no end in sight,” said Baldwin. “The Constitution is clear: if the President wants to start a war, Congress — elected by the people — needs to sign off on it. The Senate needs to come back immediately to vote on this President’s senseless and illegal bombings — I know where I stand.”
Republican US Sen. Ron Johnson
Johnson’s social media reaction was brief and aimed at U.S. servicemembers in harm’s way.
“May God bless and protect our troops as they attempt to liberate the long suffering people of Iran.”
Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Prairie du Chien
In several posts, Van Orden said “Iran has been at war with the U.S. for 47 years,” told a retired general criticizing Trump’s unilateral use of force to “STFU,” and said:
“Any member of the United States Goverment (sic) that is siding with the rogue Iranian regime over the United States needs to resign from office immediately.”
Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee
Moore called the strikes a “lawless military operation in Iran” in a social media post Saturday.
“In authorizing these strikes without Congress, the candidate who campaigned on peace is now bent on starting wars,” Moore said. “Congress should have acted after the first ill-advised attack. Speaker (Mike) Johnson must allow a vote on the War Powers Resolution to stop another forever war.”
Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Minocqua
Tiffany, who is running for Wisconsin governor, took a swipe at Democratic candidate Mandela Barnes for wishing “Iran’s Supreme Leader a ‘wonderful year’” in 2015. Tiffany ended the post by saying “May God Bless our brave service men and women.”
Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison
Pocan mocked the president’s stated reasons for attacking Iran in one social media post and claimed it’s an attempt to distract Americans from issues like inflation and “the Epstein files.”“Trump wants to divert your attention & is willing to kill people to do it,” said Pocan.
In a subsequent post, Pocan repeated his call to Wisconsin’s liberal Wisconsin Supreme Court majority to act on lawsuits aimed at redrawing the state’s eight congressional districts, which are largely based on Republican-drawn maps from 2011.
Rep. Tony Wied, R-De Pere
Wied didn’t address foreign policy or politics in his social media post reacting to the military action, focusing only only on American soldiers.
“My prayers are with our brave men and women in uniform who are carrying out this mission in Iran,” said Wied. “God Bless our Troops.”
Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Janesville
Steil avoided politics while also pledging his support for U.S. soldiers involved in the “Operation Epic Fury” action, stating “God Bless them and the United States of America,” in a social media post.
As of Saturday afternoon, U.S. Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, and U.S. Rep. Glen Grothman, R-Glenbeulah, had not issued any statements or commented on the strikes via social media.
Wisconsin congressional delegation reacts to attack on Iran was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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