Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA) declared on the Senate floor Monday that the United States is “at war once again”—this time with Iran—and called out President Donald Trump for launching the conflict without evidence of an imminent threat, without congressional authorization, and without a coherent plan for what comes next.
Schiff opened by mourning the deaths of six U.S. service members over the weekend and others who have been gravely wounded. The scale of the deployment, the sustained bombing campaign, and the growing regional fallout make clear, he argued, that this is war “in a real sense, in a constitutional sense.”
The California Democrat rejected the administration’s justification for the operation. Trump has claimed Iran was close to developing a nuclear weapon, at one point last year suggesting it was “two weeks away.” Schiff said no evidence has been presented to support that assertion. There was no proof, he argued, of weapons-grade uranium production accelerating toward a bomb, nor any demonstration that Iran had developed missile capabilities capable of striking the U.S. homeland.
To Schiff, the rhetoric echoes the intelligence failures and exaggerated claims that preceded the Iraq War—a comparison he invoked pointedly. “Have we learned nothing?” he asked.
While acknowledging that Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was a brutal dictator responsible for repression and violence, Schiff said eliminating him and dozens of other regime leaders amounts to a campaign of regime change—whether the administration admits it or not. He cited the president’s own public calls for Iranians to rise up and seize control of their country as further evidence.
Regime-change wars, Schiff warned, are inherently chaotic and unpredictable. He pointed to the long, costly experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq as cautionary examples of how difficult it is to reshape another nation through military force alone. If Iranian civilians heed calls to rise up, he asked, is the U.S. prepared to arm and protect them? If they are crushed, what then?
Schiff Urges Passage Of War Powers Resolution
The senator also raised alarms about the broader strategic risks: closure of the Strait of Hormuz, retaliatory strikes against U.S. bases and allies, the danger of American boots on the ground, and a prolonged deployment that could stretch weeks or longer.
Central to Schiff’s argument was the Constitution. The power to declare war rests with Congress, he said, a deliberate choice by the Founders who feared an executive too eager to wield military force. By bypassing lawmakers, Schiff stated, Trump has once again expanded presidential war-making authority beyond constitutional limits—setting a precedent that future presidents could exploit.
Schiff is co-sponsoring a War Powers Resolution that would require Trump to seek authorization or to cease hostilities altogether. If the president believes the threat is imminent and the war justified, Schiff said, he should make that case publicly and seek approval from Congress before more American lives are lost and more taxpayer dollars are spent.
Absent that, Schiff warned, the U.S. risks repeating the mistakes of past conflicts—entering another open-ended war without clear objectives, measurable success, or constitutional legitimacy.
