SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — San Diego's congressional delegation is split along party lines over whether President Trump needed to consult Congress before ordering military action against Iran.
Local Democratic congressmembers argue Congress should have been part of the decision and that no action should have been taken without congressional approval.
"It just seems like this is something that Congress should have been involved in," Rep. Scott Peters said.
Rep. Sara Jacobs echoed that concern.
"We should never be sending our service members into harm's way without a strategy, without an end game, without authorization and legality," Jacobs said.
Rep. Darrell Issa, however, said Trump acted within his constitutional authority as commander in chief.
"The president is in fact the commander in chief every day of the year, and can send the troops anywhere, anytime," Issa said.
The debate comes as the attack on Iran continues. In January, Trump sent U.S. troops to Venezuela, successfully capturing Nicolás Maduro, an operation Congress had no knowledge of until after it happened.
Peters pointed to that mission as part of a broader pattern.
"What I see again and again, I saw it in Venezuela, I see it now, I don't see an objective and an end game, and I think we owe that to the country and our troops," Peters said.
Issa argued that the expected four-week timeline for the Iran operation gives Trump the authority to act without congressional approval.
"And in fairness, we're not going to occupy, we're not sending troops. The expectation is that once we've taken out specific military targets, we're done," Issa said.
Democrats, however, have continued to question that timeline and the long-term strategy in Iran.
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