Why Can’t Top Democrats Just Say “No War With Iran”?
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Politics
/ March 2, 2026
Why Can’t Top Democrats Just Say “No War With Iran”?
The response to what could be the biggest geopolitical disaster of the 21st century is foot-dragging, silence, and sleepy, feigned opposition long after the deed is done.
Sarah Lazare and Adam Johnson
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Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer (L), Democrat of New York, and US House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries (R), Democrat of New York, hold a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on January 8, 2026.
(Saul Loeb / AFP via Getty Images)
As the US and Israel wage a catastrophic war on Iran, the leadership of the ostensible opposition party in Washington is failing to muster an urgent, anti-war message, instead resorting to limited process critiques and vague handwringing. While the war expands across the region, and the death toll mounts—including at least 180 people incinerated at a primary school in Minab, most of them young girls—the Democratic response to what could end up being the biggest geopolitical disaster of the 21st century is foot-dragging, silence, and sleepy, feigned opposition long after the deed is done.
On February 28, the day the United States and Israel launched their latest attack, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, one of the top two most powerful Democrats in the country, issued a press statement that scolded the administration over its failures to fulfill its obligations to the legislative branch but did not take a definitive position on the war itself. “The administration has not provided Congress and the American people with critical details about the scope and immediacy of the threat,” he said.
At times, Schumer seemed to play both sides, expressing critiques that could be read as either pro-war or anti-war, depending on one’s proclivities. “When I talked to Secretary Rubio, I implored him to be straight with Congress and the American people about the objectives of these strikes and what comes next,” he said. “Iran must never be allowed to attain a nuclear weapon, but the American people do not want another endless and costly war in the Middle East when there are so many problems at home.”
Schumer did call for the Senate to “reassert its constitutional duty by passing our resolution to enforce the War Powers Act,” referring to efforts in both the House and Senate to compel a congressional vote on authorization for the war on Iran. While holding such a vote is an important way for legislators to assert some kind of authority over the president’s unilateral and illegal war, it is not enough at this critical juncture to be merely in favor of members of Congress going …
Are they actually going to vote on something real?
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Current Issue
Politics
/ March 2, 2026
Why Can’t Top Democrats Just Say “No War With Iran”?
The response to what could be the biggest geopolitical disaster of the 21st century is foot-dragging, silence, and sleepy, feigned opposition long after the deed is done.
Sarah Lazare and Adam Johnson
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Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer (L), Democrat of New York, and US House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries (R), Democrat of New York, hold a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on January 8, 2026.
(Saul Loeb / AFP via Getty Images)
As the US and Israel wage a catastrophic war on Iran, the leadership of the ostensible opposition party in Washington is failing to muster an urgent, anti-war message, instead resorting to limited process critiques and vague handwringing. While the war expands across the region, and the death toll mounts—including at least 180 people incinerated at a primary school in Minab, most of them young girls—the Democratic response to what could end up being the biggest geopolitical disaster of the 21st century is foot-dragging, silence, and sleepy, feigned opposition long after the deed is done.
On February 28, the day the United States and Israel launched their latest attack, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, one of the top two most powerful Democrats in the country, issued a press statement that scolded the administration over its failures to fulfill its obligations to the legislative branch but did not take a definitive position on the war itself. “The administration has not provided Congress and the American people with critical details about the scope and immediacy of the threat,” he said.
At times, Schumer seemed to play both sides, expressing critiques that could be read as either pro-war or anti-war, depending on one’s proclivities. “When I talked to Secretary Rubio, I implored him to be straight with Congress and the American people about the objectives of these strikes and what comes next,” he said. “Iran must never be allowed to attain a nuclear weapon, but the American people do not want another endless and costly war in the Middle East when there are so many problems at home.”
Schumer did call for the Senate to “reassert its constitutional duty by passing our resolution to enforce the War Powers Act,” referring to efforts in both the House and Senate to compel a congressional vote on authorization for the war on Iran. While holding such a vote is an important way for legislators to assert some kind of authority over the president’s unilateral and illegal war, it is not enough at this critical juncture to be merely in favor of members of Congress going …
Why Can’t Top Democrats Just Say “No War With Iran”?
Are they actually going to vote on something real?
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Current Issue
Politics
/ March 2, 2026
Why Can’t Top Democrats Just Say “No War With Iran”?
The response to what could be the biggest geopolitical disaster of the 21st century is foot-dragging, silence, and sleepy, feigned opposition long after the deed is done.
Sarah Lazare and Adam Johnson
Share
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X (Twitter)
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Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer (L), Democrat of New York, and US House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries (R), Democrat of New York, hold a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on January 8, 2026.
(Saul Loeb / AFP via Getty Images)
As the US and Israel wage a catastrophic war on Iran, the leadership of the ostensible opposition party in Washington is failing to muster an urgent, anti-war message, instead resorting to limited process critiques and vague handwringing. While the war expands across the region, and the death toll mounts—including at least 180 people incinerated at a primary school in Minab, most of them young girls—the Democratic response to what could end up being the biggest geopolitical disaster of the 21st century is foot-dragging, silence, and sleepy, feigned opposition long after the deed is done.
On February 28, the day the United States and Israel launched their latest attack, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, one of the top two most powerful Democrats in the country, issued a press statement that scolded the administration over its failures to fulfill its obligations to the legislative branch but did not take a definitive position on the war itself. “The administration has not provided Congress and the American people with critical details about the scope and immediacy of the threat,” he said.
At times, Schumer seemed to play both sides, expressing critiques that could be read as either pro-war or anti-war, depending on one’s proclivities. “When I talked to Secretary Rubio, I implored him to be straight with Congress and the American people about the objectives of these strikes and what comes next,” he said. “Iran must never be allowed to attain a nuclear weapon, but the American people do not want another endless and costly war in the Middle East when there are so many problems at home.”
Schumer did call for the Senate to “reassert its constitutional duty by passing our resolution to enforce the War Powers Act,” referring to efforts in both the House and Senate to compel a congressional vote on authorization for the war on Iran. While holding such a vote is an important way for legislators to assert some kind of authority over the president’s unilateral and illegal war, it is not enough at this critical juncture to be merely in favor of members of Congress going …
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