Republicans Signal They Have a Red Line on Iran: Boots on the Ground

Republicans on Capitol Hill are standing firmly behind President Donald Trump’s decision to strike Iran without congressional approval. But some are signaling they’d draw the line at troops on the ground.

“I think boots on the ground would require congressional authorization,” Sen. Josh Hawley, who backs the strikes, told reporters Tuesday.

For now, airstrikes and naval operations are not triggering a revolt among Republicans on Capitol Hill. After a pair of classified briefings Tuesday from top Trump administration officials, Republicans largely echoed the administration’s argument that the strikes were defensive and necessary to blunt an “imminent threat.”

Republicans in both chambers are expected to resoundingly reject bipartisan war powers resolutions this week aimed at limiting Trump from taking further steps without congressional approval.

Hawley has advocated for a more restrained U.S. foreign policy approach and briefly backed a war powers resolution meant to limit Trump on Venezuela in January before reversing course. He has said he opposes the Iran war powers measure and doesn’t want Trump to send troops into Iran.

“I’d urge him to rule it out,” Hawley said. When asked if he would support sending troops, he said, “I find it difficult to imagine a scenario where I would.”

Even Sen. Markwayne Mullin, a loyal Trump ally, said that he thinks the administration would have to persuade Congress about the need to deploy U.S. troops to Iran.

“That would be a case they’d have to make at that time,” he told reporters of the administration.

Sen. Tim Sheehy told reporters that “there’s always an option for high-value target, capture, kill and hostage rescue if needed, but no widespread boots on the ground.”

“If it’s targeted raids, that’s well within his authority,” Sheehy said. “But yeah, obviously a full invasion — which no one’s discussing that — and I don’t think that’s what the American people want.”

Trump has declined to rule out deploying U.S. ground forces, saying he would consider them if they were necessary. He also said the campaign could last four to five weeks and possibly longer, a timeline that is fueling concerns on Capitol Hill that the mission could drag on and expand.

Even without ground troops, at least six U.S. service members have been killed so far, according to U.S. officials, and Trump said Sunday that there will “likely be more” American deaths in Iran before conflict ends. The Trump administration has insisted it met its obligations under the Constitution by informing the Gang of Eight and briefing top committee leaders ahead of the strikes on Iran, and has given no indication that it plans to change course.

“In the next few hours and days, you’re going to really begin to perceive a change in the scope and in the intensity of these attacks as, frankly, the two most powerful air forces in the world take apart this terroristic regime and defang it,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters Tuesday before briefing lawmakers.

Along with Rubio, lawmakers heard from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Dan Caine and CIA Director John Ratcliffe. One senior House Republican, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly, said the briefing focused on what led to the military operation rather than what comes next.

At the briefing for House members, Rep. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told Rubio at one point, “Don’t filibuster us,” the senior House Republican recalled.

Rubio, in response, “threw a couple of points, and he literally leans back and goes, ‘Was that short enough?’” the lawmaker said. (Meeks’ office did not immediately respond to NOTUS’ request for comment.)

The senior House Republican said there were questions from both sides of the aisle about how Americans stranded in Iran would get out. NOTUS reported that many Americans have struggled to get help from the U.S. government to leave the region, despite assurances of aid from the Trump administration.

The prevailing sentiment from Republicans leaving the briefing was that they support Trump’s actions in Iran, but are wary of the conflict dragging on for months or years.

“Look, obviously, everyone wants to resolve this as quick as possible,” Rep. Nicole Malliotakis told NOTUS. “It’s impossible to determine at this point how long the operation can take.”

Some Republicans said they weren’t concerned about congressional authorization at any point in the conflict.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of the strongest supporters of the war in Iran, said that he believes the War Powers Act is “unconstitutional,” arguing that it takes too much power away from the president. The War Powers Act requires the president to consult lawmakers before sending U.S. forces into combat and to notify Congress within 48 hours.

“It says, after 60 days of combat operations, military operations, they must terminate unless Congress approves — you’re shifting the power from the commander in chief to the Congress,” Graham told reporters. “The War Powers Act is an unconstitutional shift of authority from the president, and it would create 535 commanders in chief.”

Sen. Rick Scott told reporters that he hopes “we can do this through air operations, but you never take that off the table. I mean, that would be stupid.” When NOTUS asked if that would require congressional authorization, the Florida senator simply stated, “No.”

Some Democrats agree that the administration’s notification to the Gang of Eight was enough. Rep. Greg Landsman told NOTUS on Saturday that the administration informing those specific members was “a return to what previous administrations have done.”

But many Democrats say the administration’s military operations are illegal — boots on the ground or not.

“The administration has failed to adhere to its constitutional responsibilities, both to consult with Congress in its entirety and seek approval for getting the country into a war that Donald Trump himself has characterized as endless,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters ahead of the classified briefing for House members.

Democrats said that it’s vital for Congress, which has the sole power to declare war, to weigh in.

“They told us in that room that there were going to be more Americans that were going to die. They’re not gonna be able to stop these drones,” Sen. Chris Murphy told reporters after the briefing. “We have to have a debate in the United States Senate on the authorization of military force.”