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Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., criticized President Donald Trump's decision to strike Iran's nuclear sites on Sunday, arguing that it shouldn't have happened without congressional approval, but said the only positive was that it set the regime's nuclear program back.
"In terms of is there anything positive to come out of it? Yes. I mean, the destruction of these facilities is a positive in the sense that it will set back Iran‘s program. And look, this is a nefarious regime that is the preeminent state sponsor of terror, should have never been pursuing a nuclear program. But it is very possible, and I think we have to anticipate Iran now kicks out any inspectors. It leaves the nonproliferation treaty. And if it wasn‘t in a sprint for a bomb, it is now going to engage in a sprint for the bomb," he told CNN's Kasie Hunt during "State of the Union" on Sunday.
Trump announced on Saturday that the U.S. had successfully bombed Iran's nuclear sites. Iran's military launched strikes against Israel as the president called for "peace."
"So, a lot of uncertainty finally, this was not constitutional. It was not lawful, in the absence of a declaration by Congress. And so the administration should have come to Congress, we will have a vote on a war powers resolution. But there’s a reason to bring this to Congress, and it is, you want the Congress bought in, you want the American people bought in on an action this substantial that could lead to a major outbreak of war," Schiff continued.
U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA), joined by Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), speaks at a press conference introducing the Assault Weapons Ban of 2025 on April 30, 2025 in Washington, DC (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
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Hunt asked Schiff if he believed the world was less safe this morning than yesterday.
"I don‘t think, to be honest, Kasie, there’s any way for us to know. Anyone who says they can see into the future and what the Iranian response will be, whether it will claim American lives or whether there will be some change in the Iranian regime or new, opening a new opportunity. We simply don’t know. We simply don’t know," Schiff said.
"And I think because of that uncertainty, you don’t want to take an action like this without a strong basis that is that Iran was imminently pursing a bomb," he continued. "We simply don't have that intelligence, or if we do, it hasn't been shared with the Congress."
Schiff suggested Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth didn't know either, citing his Sunday morning press conference.
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Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth testifies before the House Committee on Appropriations subcommittee oversight hearing on the Department of Defense, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
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Trump received bipartisan pushback over U.S. involvement with Iran following Trump's strike.
Representatives Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Thomas Massie, R-Ky., criticized the president for green-lighting attacks on the three nuclear sites in Iran on Saturday night.
"This is not constitutional," Massie said, responding to Trump's Truth Social post announcing the strikes on Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan in Iran.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., is seen outside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, December 18, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
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"Trump struck Iran without any authorization of Congress. We need to immediately return to DC and vote on @RepThomasMassie and my War Powers Resolution to prevent America from being dragged into another endless Middle East war," Khanna posted.
Hanna Panreck is an associate editor at Fox News.