Republican Lawmakers Begin to Break With Trump on Iran War: "We Were Misled"
GOP members were furious after the latest closed door-briefing...
This article originally appeared on ZeroHedge and was republished with permission.
Guest post by Tyler Durden
Republican lawmakers are belatedly starting to wake up to the potential for the United States to once again get bogged down in yet another Middle East quagmire, but this time with a country double the size of Iraq (both in geography and population).
GOP Rep. Nancy Mace has led the charge this week, blasting any potential Trump admin move to put American boots on the ground, warning she will vehemently oppose new war funding if American troops are deployed in Iran. âIâll be voting against the funding if weâre putting troops on the ground,â Mace told a reporter outside the Capitol earlier in the week. âIâm not going to fund that.â
The comments came after the Pentagon days prior unveiled a massive $200 billion supplemental request in order to fund the war, which was at first previewed by White House officials as lasting a mere âdaysâ or a few âweeksâ and not months (or years).
Mace soon followed her verbal comments with a Tuesday post on X pushing back against getting sucked into a ground war. âIf a single boot of a single American soldier sets foot on Iranian soil, I will vote against this,â Mace wrote. âI will not vote to fund sending South Carolinaâs sons and daughters to die in a ground war in Iran.â
War Secretary Pete Hegseth had framed the supplemental request as essential given it âtakes money to kill the bad guysâ - as he said, echoing a view that President Trump has been supportive of while claiming âwe wonâ.
Axios is newly reporting on Thursday that Mace is not going to back down if another War Powers resolution is pushed before the House:
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) told Axios she will âmost likelyâ vote for House Democratsâ resolution to constrain President Trump from waging war with Iran the next time it comes up for a vote.
Why it matters: The vote is symbolic â even if the measure passed both chambers, Trump could veto it â but Maceâs support puts the House one step closer to a major rebuke of the administrationâs Middle East operations.
At the moment thereâs some 7,000 US ground forces en route to the Middle East - including from the Armyâs 82nd Airborne Division and the Marines, amid speculation Trump could be eyeing some kind of high risk Kharg Island operation, in order to force open the Strait of Hormuz.
This particular âfinal blowâ plan - which would be contingent on putting boots on the ground in a Kharg takeover - has really gotten Republicansâ attention. Daily Mail on Thursday reports that âFurious Republicans stormed out of a classified briefing on Iran on Wednesday amid fears the US is preparing to invade the country as Tehran refuses Donald Trumpâs peace overtures.â
According to more details in the report:
Nancy Mace walked out early, venting that âwe were misled,â while pro-Trump committee chair Mike Rogers warned âweâre not getting answersâ as Pentagon chiefs briefed the House Armed Services Committee, sparking fireworks on Capitol Hill.
Now, a Daily Mail source inside the room has revealed stark new details, including a new set of objectives which may suggest that America is moving toward boots on the ground as Iran continues to strangle the Strait of Hormuz.
The lawmaker, speaking on condition of anonymity, said members were presented with three military objectives: Kharg Island, Iranâs crucial oil export hub; its nuclear material; and regime change. It marks a stark shift from the four goals the White House has publicly stated: destroying Iranâs missiles, navy, armed proxies, and nuclear capabilities.
The lawmaker said that the White House must answer for its plans, particularly regarding Kharg Island and troops on the ground. The answers are âjaw-droppingâ and âwill blow your brains out,â the lawmaker said.
Quagmire by midterms? Some MAGA influencers have increasingly said they are tired about hearing Israel-centric justifications for Trumpâs newest war of choice.
GOP members are getting much more vocal alongside Democrats:
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers was uncharacteristically agitated after leaving the briefing, stating that he had few details about the direction the war is heading.
âWe want to know more about whatâs going on,â Rogers, an Alabama Republican, said. âWeâre just not getting enough answers.â Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker of Mississippi felt the same after his own briefing. âI can see why he might have said that,â Wicker told Politico of Rogersâ comments.
A week ago Responsible Statecraft began documenting fissures among the generally war-supporting GOP, and itâs been more than just the expected Libertarian firebrands Rand Paul and Thomas Massie. For example, Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado has told reporters: âI am so tired of spending money elsewhere. Iâm tired of the Industrial War Complex getting our hard-earned tax dollars. Iâve got folks in Colorado who canât afford to live. We need America First policies right now.â
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