A classified briefing on Capitol Hill has left lawmakers alarmed that Donald Trump’s campaign in Iran lacks a defined endgame.
Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego, who is an Iraq war veteran, told CNN that Monday’s briefing with Secretary of State Marco Rubio revealed that the Trump administration has no clear exit strategy for its war with Iran.
“The most important thing that came away from this was, number one, we don’t have a plan on how to get out of this,” the Democratic senator said.
He added that without a clear plan, there is a risk it could turn into a “long-term war.”
“We don‘t actually have a concept of victory. We—you know, our justification for going into the war is entirely different from what we‘re hearing from the president right now. Again, this is even after the president went publicly and spoke to that. And that all is a very scary situation. Like, for me, as someone who had to live through some really bad decisions in 2005 that the, you know, the then-administration did, if we don‘t know how we can get out of this war, if we don‘t know what the actual victory is, we‘re seeing potentially a long-term war," he said.
He added: “The president has not been very clear how and when it ends. And more importantly, the American public does not want this right now.”
Rubio and top Trump administration national security officials briefed senators on Monday and again on Tuesday amid growing demands for the administration to define its endgame in Iran.
Since launching “major combat operations” against Iran—which saw Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and dozens of Iranian officials killed in the opening salvos—Trump’s public explanations for why the strikes were ordered and how long they might last have varied, with different statements about objectives and timelines that have shifted over the past several days.
His projections for the duration of the campaign have swung from just days to well over a month—a timeline defense officials privately caution would stretch U.S. air defense systems and munitions reserves. The cost of escalation is already being felt: at least six American service members have been killed in retaliatory attacks since the joint U.S.–Israeli offensive began Saturday.
Meanwhile, in a letter sent to Congress by Trump under the War Powers Act, obtained by CBS News, the 79-year-old admitted that he does not know the “full scope” of military operations in Iran.
“Although the United States desires a quick and enduring peace, it is not possible at this time to know the full scope and duration of military operations that may be necessary,” Trump wrote.
Democratic senators said they left Monday’s briefing certain that the president, who returned to office promising to end America’s so-called “forever wars,” does not have a coherent plan for Iran.
“There are times when you go into a classified session and you walk out with a better understanding about the gravity of the situation and the rationale behind the military action. This is not one of those times. We remain as confused as the American people are,” Sen. Brian Schatz told reporters.
“They have had three or four or five justifications for this act of war over the last four or five days, and nothing in this classified session alleviated that confusion,” he said.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who sits on Armed Services Committee, said in a video posted on X that the U.S. government has no plan for Iran.
“It is so much worse than you thought. You are right to be worried,” Warren said. after attending a Senate briefing with Rubio and other top officials. “The Trump administration has no plan in Iran.”
She added that the “illegal war” was launched “without any imminent threat to our nation.”
Most Democrats swiftly condemned the strikes, arguing that Trump had effectively taken the country to war without authorization from Congress.
Party leaders then revived demands for a new War Powers resolution. If passed, such a measure could restrict the president’s ability to conduct further unilateral strikes without lawmakers’ approval.
However, the measure is unlikely to pass due to the lack of Republican support.
Before the briefing, Rubio told reporters on Monday that “the next phase will be even more punishing on Iran than it is right now.”
