() A pair of classified briefings for the full House and Senate on the U.S. airstrikes on Iran have been postponed and are now set for Thursday.
Lawmakers were scheduled to be briefed by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, among others.
Democrats and a small number of Republicans have questioned the necessity of the strikes and whether Iran truly posed an imminent threat.
The Senate briefing has reportedly been pushed back so Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth could be there and lawmakers could have a chance to question them on the details behind the strike and what comes next.
caught up with some senators following a meeting of the Senate Armed Services Committee and got different responses as to whether they are concerned about the briefing being delayed.
“There’s a whole host of questions, and the sooner we get the answers, the better off we’ll all be. I mean, we’re really not involved at all in this, which creates constitutional issues,” said Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I.
Others were more supportive.
“Ceasefires are declared, they’re broken, they’re declared again. So I don’t think anybody thought this was going to be a totally conclusive moment,” said Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont. “The president knows that, so I think he’s doing a masterful job ensuring that our allies and our adversaries are all getting the same message, which is, we want the violence to stop. We don’t want Iran to have a nuke and we’re going to do whatever it takes to make sure things happen.”
Sheehy said he wasn’t worried about the briefing being pushed back and said he believes it is up to the executive branch to make tactical military decisions, and he just wants to get the most accurate information.
Democrats, along with a few Republicans, are worried that the Senate hasn’t been more involved in these decisions along with members of Congress.
Many believe the president is acting unconstitutionally in making these military decisions when Congress is the branch given the power to declare war. They say lawmakers need to have a bigger say going forward.
