Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA) said the American casualties sustained in President Donald Trump’s escalating conflict with Iran—Operation Epic Fury—are the tragic and foreseeable consequence of a war he argues never should have been launched.
Speaking with Wolf Blitzer during an interview on CNN, Schiff called the loss of U.S. service members “devastating,” offering condolences to their families while sharply criticizing the president’s decision to initiate a war with Iran. Schiff called out Trump for failing to make a case to either Congress or the American public and acting without authorization.
“There was no imminent threat,” Schiff stated, contending that Iran was neither on the verge of building a nuclear weapon nor capable of striking the United States with ballistic missiles. He noted that Trump had previously claimed Iran’s nuclear program had been “obliterated,” undermining the argument for urgent military action. Launching a war aimed at regime change under those circumstances, Schiff argued, was a “terrible mistake.”
While acknowledging that Iran poses a long-term strategic challenge—as do other adversarial nations such as North Korea—Schiff emphasized that long-term threats do not grant a president unilateral authority to wage war. The Constitution, he said, requires congressional approval for sustained hostilities.
Now, Schiff warned, the region is destabilizing. Iran has retaliated against U.S. interests, and the president has publicly encouraged the Iranian people to rise up. Whether such calls result in successful democratic change or a brutal response by Iranian leadership remains uncertain, he said. Without a clear plan or commitment of ground forces, the outcome could be chaos—or even massacre.
Schiff: ‘The American People Don’t Want Another Endless War’
Schiff is backing a bipartisan War Powers Resolution led by Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) and joined by Senators Rand Paul (R-KY) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY), among others, that would require the president to seek authorization from Congress to continue military action. He urged lawmakers to return to Washington immediately for a vote, saying Congress must reassert its constitutional role and put members on the record.
If the president believes the war is justified, Schiff said, he should present his case to Congress and the country. “The American people don’t want another endless war,” he added, stating that the conflict does nothing to lower costs or improve life at home.
Schiff was clear on one point: the president’s growing willingness to use military force abroad—from Iran to other flashpoints such as Venezuela—demands congressional restraint. If this conflict continues, he said, lawmakers will continue to press for votes until Congress reclaims its authority over decisions of war and peace.
