Wisconsin lawmakers briefed on war with Iran - Spectrum News

WASHINGTON — Members of Congress have now been briefed by Trump administration officials on America’s ongoing attack on Iran.

Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee, said she couldn’t tell from the meeting that there actually was an imminent threat from Iran. She seemed to leave the classified gathering Tuesday evening with more questions than answers.

“I have a question about how much was invested in continued diplomacy,” she said. “I continue to wonder why they tore up the nuclear agreement that was negotiated with [former President Barack] Obama that seemed to be working. I am wondering about the action they took last June, where they say that they had obliterated all of the nuclear weapons, and now this particularly dramatic response, and how that ties together or does not tie together.”

Moore also said she feels inclined to vote for a war powers resolution to rein in President Donald Trump’s military operations in Iran.

“There doesn’t seem to be a plan to extricate ourselves,” she said. “And so I do think that it’s important for us to continue to articulate the powers of Article One [of the Constitution] and [Congress’] ability to declare war.”

Moore added that having lived through the Vietnam War, the Iraq War and the Afghanistan War, she said it’s “clear to me that starting a war is a lot easier than finishing it.”

On the other hand, Republicans came out of the closed-door meeting more confident in the president’s military strikes.

“I think they did a very good job of justifying this, and I’m glad that President Trump is our president,” said Rep. Glenn Grothman, R-Glenbeulah. “Obviously, this is a private briefing, so he can’t talk about details, but it certainly made me feel better about the action over the weekend.”

“Members have been gathering most of their information from media reports, which can or can’t be accurate,” said Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau. “So I think to hear some of this stuff directly from Secretary of State Marco Rubio — he did a very good job of laying out where we are.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, said that restricting the president now would be “dangerous” and playing “right into the hands of the enemy.”

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