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Jewish Democrats press for oversight as Trump’s Iran war rages on
After Congress failed to rein in President Donald Trump’s authority to wage war alongside Israel against Iran, Democrats say the fight over congressional oversight is far from over.
Jewish Democrats, many of whom support U.S. action to curb Iran’s nuclear program and dismantle its ballistic missile infrastructure, are grappling with how to respond as the midterm elections approach and opposition to the war runs deep within their party.
All but one member of the congressional Jewish Caucus voted last week for the War Powers Act resolution, which would have required the administration to halt U.S. strikes against Iran until it received congressional approval.
Trump further complicated things when he described the U.S. strikes as “war” in his public remarks and proclaimed Sunday that “everything is on the table,” including possible ground troops, in destroying Iran’s capabilities to develop nuclear weapons and creating the conditions for regime change. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, however, said Monday that the mission’s goal is to dismantle the Iranian “terroristic regime’s” ability to develop and launch missiles that threaten its neighbors and the broader region by land and sea. Seven U.S. servicemembers have been killed in Iranian missile strikes.
On Monday afternoon, Trump said the war could end “pretty quickly,” but that the U.S. has not yet “won enough.”
Halie Soifer, the head of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, said in an interview that members of Congress are exploring new ways to demand oversight as it becomes increasingly clear that the administration “lacks a coherent strategy in Iran.” She said lawmakers will have an opportunity to seek transparency from the White House about its objectives and the path forward in the conflict when the White House requests supplemental funding for the war.
The conflict is estimated to cost as much as $1 billion a day. The Pentagon is expected to request a defense supplemental package of up to $50 billion in the coming days.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer hasn’t outlined his strategy in public. In his response to the failed war powers vote, he pointed fingers at Republicans enabling Trump. “It’s another sign that this administration is allergic to having a plan and thinking about the consequences in advance,” he said. A Senate official, who requested anonymity to discuss internal conversations, said Democrats have been quietly talking with Republicans about negotiating a path forward, as some in the GOP appear increasingly uneasy about the war.
At a press conference Monday, Trump again called Schumer, America’s highest-ranking Jewish elected official, a “Palestinian” over his criticism of the war. “He’s gone from totally pro-Israel to totally pro-Palestinian,” Trump said. “He wants to protect the Iranian people, that are quite nasty.”
Senate Democrats have reportedly launched an effort to force top administration officials to testify in congressional hearings and are threatening to disrupt business if Republicans resist. Some members have already introduced five additional war powers resolutions seeking to halt U.S. strikes on Tehran as the situation unfolds.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, who has at times crossed party lines in support of Israel and offered forceful support for action against the Iranian regime, both before and after the strikes began, introduced with a number of his colleagues a more moderate alternative that would order Trump to end the military campaign within 30 days unless Congress authorizes a formal declaration of war. Gottheimer ultimately voted in favor of the war powers measure last week.
Some Jewish Democrats took issue with that vote and want to move on. “Sadly, it is purely political games,” said Abe Foxman, the former head of the Anti-Defamation League.
Foxman noted that previous Democratic administrations conducted military operations without explicit congressional authorization. “Ninety-nine percent of Democrats are on record saying Iran is a terrorist state and cannot have nuclear weapons. So why this game?” he asked.
Recent polling in Israel suggests overwhelming support for the war effort across Israel’s political spectrum. Some 80% of Israelis support the military campaign, including 77% of voters who support opposition parties. A Jewish People Policy Institute survey of 692 American Jews with relatively strong ties to the Jewish community, Jewish identity or Israel found that 68% support the U.S. decision to go to war against Iran, while 26% oppose it.
Trump said Sunday that any decision on when to end the war with Iran would be made “mutually” with Netanyahu.
That gap between Israeli public opinion and Democratic sentiment in Washington has become a central talking point for Republicans, portraying it as evidence that the party is further drifting away from Israel ahead of the midterms.
“Trump Derangement Syndrome is melting Democrats’ brains,” said Sam Markstein, a spokesperson for the Republican Jewish Coalition. “Democrats continue to play politics with the national security of the United States, and the American people will remember in November.”
Jewish Democrats say lack of oversight and strategy complicates support
Pro-Israel groups aligned with the Democratic Party pushed back, insisting their position reflects concern about strategy and constitutional authority rather than any sympathy for the Iranian regime.
Amanda Berman, head of the liberal feminist Zioness Movement, said the debate over Trump’s approach has been mischaracterized in a binary and partisan manner, with Republicans defending the unlimited use of force without congressional authorization and most Democrats portrayed as broadly opposing military action to curb Iran.
The narrative should be that this is about process, not outcome, Berman said. “Congress has to determine whether the war is in the best interest of the people of the United States, and I believe that there is a strong argument that it is in the best interest,” she said. “The issue is that there is a lack of clarity around the strategy and the goals.”
JDCA’s Soifer, who was a national security adviser to former Vice President Kamala Harris while she was in the Senate, said it “oversimplifies it to characterize our position as opposition to the war.”
“We support some of the short-term tactical gains that have been made, and we support Israel in its efforts to ensure its security,” Soifer said. “But no, we will not stop pressing the administration to fulfil its responsibility to explain to the American people how it’s going to achieve its objectives in this war, and what those objectives are.”
Brian Romick, president of Democratic Majority for Israel, said the party’s voters overwhelmingly “agree on the fundamental threat posed by Tehran. He pointed to the House resolution reaffirming the U.S. position that Iran remains the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism that passed last week with bipartisan support, 372 voting in favor and only 53 Democrats voting against.
“Ending Iran’s nuclear threat, ballistic missile program and ability to sponsor terrorism will unequivocally make the world safer,” Romick said. At the same time, he said, lawmakers are seeking clarity from the administration about its long-term strategy.
The pro-peace J Street group lobbied Congress to support the war powers resolution, saying it was opposed to any action against Iran without congressional oversight. Jeremy Ben-Ami, J Street president, said at its annual conference in Washington, D.C. last week that their position applies to all administrations. “This idea of presidential ability to use the armed forces at their whim is a very dangerous one,” he said.
Ben-Ami also said J Street supports a diplomatic solution to end the war, even if it would come with strict terms set by Trump. “The right way to get out of this will be through some form of diplomatic agreement,” he said.
The post Jewish Democrats press for oversight as Trump’s Iran war rages on appeared first on The Forward.
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Trump Issues New Warning to Tehran, Iran Calls US Peace Proposals ‘Unrealistic’
A blaze after Israel’s Fire and Rescue Service said that an industrial building and a fuel tanker at Israel’s Oil Refineries were hit by debris from an intercepted Iranian missile, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, in Haifa, Israel, March 30, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Rami Shlush
US President Donald Trump warned on Monday that Iran‘s energy plants and oil wells would be obliterated if it did not open the Strait of Hormuz, after Tehran described US peace proposals as “unrealistic” and fired waves of missiles at Israel.
Israel’s military said two drones from Yemen had also been intercepted on Monday, two days after the Iran-aligned Houthis entered the war by firing missiles at Israel, and that Lebanon’s Hezbollah had fired rockets at Israel.
Israeli forces carried out missile strikes on what they called military infrastructure in Tehran and infrastructure used by Iran-backed Hezbollah in Beirut, leaving black smoke hanging over the Lebanese capital.
Turkey’s defense ministry said a ballistic missile launched from Iran entered Turkish airspace before being shot down by NATO air and missile defenses deployed in the eastern Mediterranean, the fourth such incident since the start of the war.
US REINFORCEMENTS ARRIVE IN REGION
Thousands of soldiers from the US Army’s elite 82nd Airborne Division have started arriving in the Middle East, two US officials told Reuters on Monday, part of a reinforcement that would expand Trump‘s options to include the deployment of forces inside Iranian territory.
Tehran remained defiant in the month-old war, which began with US-Israeli attacks on Iran on Feb. 28 and has spread across the region, killing thousands, disrupting energy supplies and hitting the global economy. The majority of those reported killed were in Iran and Lebanon, and many were civilians.
Iran confirmed on Monday the death of Revolutionary Guards Navy Commander Alireza Tangsiri, the latest of its leaders killed including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has been replaced by his son Mojtaba Khamenei.
The Iranians have effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway which normally carries about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.
Iran said on Monday it had received US peace proposals via intermediaries, following talks on Sunday between the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey.
But Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the proposals were “unrealistic, illogical, and excessive.”
“Our position is clear. We are under military aggression. Therefore, all our efforts and strength are focused on defending ourselves,” he told a press conference.
Soon after Baghaei’s remarks, Trump said in a social media post that the United States was in talks with a “more reasonable regime” to end the war in Iran, but he also issued a new warning over the Strait of Hormuz.
“Great progress has been made but, if for any reason a deal is not shortly reached, which it probably will be, and if the Hormuz Strait is not immediately ‘Open for Business,’ we will conclude our lovely ‘stay’ in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island,” Trump wrote.
Trump also threatened to attack the desalination plants that supply clean water in Iran. He said last week he would pause attacks on Iran‘s energy plants for 10 days, which would be until April 6, US time.
A Pakistani security official, whose country is trying to mediate in the war, said that at this stage it appeared unlikely there would be direct US-Iran talks this week.
Baghaei also said Iran‘s parliament was reviewing a possible exit from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which recognizes the right to develop, research, produce, and use nuclear energy as long as nuclear weapons are not pursued.
Trump has cited preventing Iran obtaining nuclear weapons as one of the reasons for attacking Iran on Feb. 28. Tehran denies it is seeking a nuclear arsenal.
On Sunday, Trump said the US and Iran had been meeting “directly and indirectly.” But he has also been sending more US troops to the region and Iran has remained defiant, maintaining its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
FEARS OF ESCALATION
Iran has fired on Arab Gulf states during the conflict and war has been reignited between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Two members of the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL) were killed in southern Lebanon on Monday after an explosion of “unknown origin” destroyed their vehicle.
The incident is the second in 24 hours after another UNIFIL peacekeeper was killed when a projectile exploded at one of its positions in a southern Lebanese village.
Brent crude futures pared earlier gains by 1700 GMT on Monday but are on course for a record monthly rise of close to 60 percent.
The Houthis’ attacks on Israel raised the prospect that they could target and block a second important shipping route, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
The oil market has all but discounted the prospect of a negotiated end to the war and “is bracing for a sharp escalation in military hostilities,” said Vandana Hari of oil-market provider Vanda Insights.
The Financial Times quoted Trump on Sunday as saying in an interview that the US could seize Kharg Island, from where Iran exports much of its oil.
ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES
The International Monetary Fund warned that war in the Middle East has caused serious disruption to the economies of frontline countries, and is dimming the outlook for many economies that had just started to recover from previous crises.
G7 finance leaders also said they were ready to take “all necessary measures” to safeguard energy market stability and limit broader economic spillovers from recent volatility.
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Spain Closes Airspace to US Planes Involved in Iran War, Defense Minister Says
Spain’s Defense Minister Margarita Robles arrives at the informal EU Defense Ministers’ meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark, Aug. 29, 2025. Photo: Ritzau Scanpix/Thomas Traasdahl via REUTERS
Spain has closed its airspace to US planes involved in attacks on Iran, a step beyond its previous denial of use of jointly-operated military bases, Defense Minister Margarita Robles said on Monday.
“We don’t authorize either the use of military bases or the use of airspace for actions related to the war in Iran,” she told reporters in Madrid.
Spanish newspaper El Pais had first reported the news on Monday, citing military sources.
The closure of the airspace forces military planes to bypass NATO member Spain en route to their targets in the Middle East, but it does not include emergency situations, El Pais added.
“This decision is part of the decision already made by the Spanish government not to participate in or contribute to a war which was initiated unilaterally and against international law,” Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo said during an interview with radio Cadena Ser when asked if the decision to close Spain‘s airspace could worsen relations with the United States.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has been one of the most vocal opponents of the US and Israeli attacks on Iran, describing them as reckless and illegal.
President Donald Trump has threatened to cut trade with Madrid for denying the US use of Spain‘s bases in the war.
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US Formally Reopens Caracas Embassy as Ties With Venezuela Warm
Venezuela’s interim president Delcy Rodriguez speaks during a press conference, more than a week after the US launched a strike on the country and captured President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, at Miraflores Palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Jan. 14, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria
The United States on Monday formally reopened its embassy in Caracas, the State Department said, citing “a new chapter” in diplomatic relations with Venezuela less than three months after US forces seized the country’s then-President Nicolas Maduro in a raid on the capital.
President Donald Trump’s administration has engaged with an interim government led by former Maduro ally Delcy Rodriguez, including on an agreement for the US to sell Venezuelan oil, and has issued sanctions waivers to encourage US investment.
The two countries agreed in early March to re-establish diplomatic relations that were severed in 2019 after the first Trump administration refused to recognize Maduro as the country’s legitimate leader, following a disputed election, and instead recognized an opposition lawmaker as the country’s president.
“Today, we are formally resuming operations at the S. Embassy in Caracas, marking a new chapter in our diplomatic presence in Venezuela,” the State Department said on Monday.
US forces captured Maduro on Jan. 3 after months of heightened tensions between the two countries, setting off a chain of changes in Venezuela. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are on trial in New York on drug trafficking charges.
The raid came after the Trump administration said it would reassert US dominance in the Western Hemisphere, but Trump has also cited the success of deposing Maduro as a model for the war with Iran that began last month. The move against Venezuela cut off a major source of oil to Cuba, where the president has also hinted at US military action.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said days after the Caracas raid that Washington would first seek to stabilize Venezuela, then begin a recovery phase where US companies would have access to the country’s energy resources, before finally beginning a political transition.
The Trump administration appointed Ambassador Laura Dogu, a career diplomat with experience in Latin America, to lead engagement with the interim government.
The State Department on March 19 removed a “do not travel” advisory for Venezuela and said Americans were no longer at risk of wrongful detention by authorities there, although it still warns US citizens to reconsider travel due to the risk of crime, kidnapping, terrorism and poor health infrastructure in the country.
The State Department said on Monday that Dogu’s team was restoring the Caracas embassy‘s chancery building “to prepare for the full return of personnel as soon as possible and the eventual resumption of consular services.”
“The resumption of operations at US Embassy Caracas is a key milestone in implementing the President’s three‑phase plan for Venezuela and will strengthen our ability to engage directly with Venezuela’s interim government, civil society, and the private sector,” the State Department said.