Both of Utah’s U.S. senators defended and praised President Donald Trump’s decision to attack Iran without congressional authorization, contradicting earlier arguments they have both made about the role of Congress.
Following the U.S. bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend, Trump announced a ceasefire between Israel and Iran earlier this week, although both countries have claimed the ceasefire is already being violated. Members on both sides of the aisle have criticized the bombings as an unconstitutional violation of the War Powers Resolution.
The resolution, passed after an override of former President Richard Nixon’s veto, requires that Congress be consulted when U.S. troops are involved in hostilities abroad and Article I of the Constitution empowers Congress, not the president, to declare war.
But asked about his understanding of the impact of the U.S. strikes during a CNN appearance Monday, Republican Sen. John Curtis, Utah’s junior senator, praised the president’s decision, saying. “Well, first of all, I would say the first chapter in the book, ‘Peace Through Strength,’ should be the case study of what’s happened here.”
Curtis added that he, along with his colleagues, was set to have a classified briefing Tuesday, “but it appears from all indications to be very positive.”
“[T]he hope that we’re actually tying a bow around this and can move forward with peace in the region is just great news,” he said.
According to a New York Times report Tuesday, the U.S. attacks in Iran set back the country’s nuclear program only a few months. Prior to the attack, the Times reported, officials said Iran could rush to build a bomb in three months, and, following it, officials are estimating the program has been set back by less than six months.
During the interview, Curtis was also asked if he supported a regime change in Iran, as Trump has suggested and as Curtis’ fellow Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina has openly supported.
“Well, for me, it’s very clear,” Curtis said — although he did not answer the question of whether he supports a regime change. Instead, he referred to the Abraham Accords — diplomatic agreements between Israel and several other countries in the region negotiated during Trump’s first term — and said the “real goal” is “that we bring peace to the region, we bring prosperity to the region and totally change the landscape of what’s happening over there.”
Curtis’s praise of the president’s decision to strike Iran without congressional approval comes after comments he made last month about the importance of pushing back against Trump and Congress acting as a “board of directors” for the president.
“I really think the best way to make President Trump successful is to let him know when we disagree,” he said in a May CNN appearance. “We serve the president best when we act and function more like a board of directors. … [Y]ou wouldn’t want a board of directors to rubber stamp the president of a company, right?”
Curtis’s office did not respond to a request for comment about what role he feels Congress should have played in Trump’s decision to attack Iran.
Sen. Mike Lee, too, has praised the bombings, writing on his official X account Saturday, “Tonight, the Iranian nuclear program was wiped out. Please join me in praying for the safety of the brave men and women of America’s armed forces in the Middle East and around the world, and that these strikes may lead to the lasting peace called for by President Trump.”
The remarks were a sharp departure from Lee’s stance just last year after former President Joe Biden launched airstrikes in Yemen without congressional approval, when Lee shared a post from Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California arguing that Biden needed authorization from Congress.
“That is Article I of the Constitution,” Khanna wrote at the time. “I will stand up for that regardless of whether a Democrat or a Republican is in the White House.”
Lee wrote, “I totally agree with @RoKhanna. The Constitution matters, regardless of party affiliation.”
Lee’s office did not respond to a request for comment on the difference between Trump’s decision to attack without congressional approval versus Biden’s.
