Tensions flared during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Tuesday as Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) defended the administration’s aggressive stance toward Iran by highlighting what he called the “silence” of Democrats during previous military actions.
The hearing, which featured testimony from Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby regarding the National Defense Strategy, quickly shifted into a debate over executive war powers and the legacy of the Iran Nuclear Deal.
Mullin took direct aim at Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) and other committee colleagues who have recently questioned the legality of current operations against the Iranian regime.
The Oklahoma senator argued that these same lawmakers offered no resistance in 2016 when then-President Barack Obama authorized the dropping of roughly 26,000 bombs across seven countries, including Libya, Syria, and Pakistan, without seeking specific congressional approval.
The exchange centered on the recurring friction between Article II of the Constitution, which grants the President authority as Commander in Chief to defend U.S. interests, and the War Powers Resolution.
Mullin maintained that the current administration has remained within legal bounds by notifying Congress within the required 48-hour window. He dismissed accusations of “grandstanding,” characterizing the recent actions as a long-overdue response to a regime that has targeted Americans since the 1979 hostage crisis, most recently in June 2025.
During his remarks, Mullin described the original Iran Nuclear Deal as a “disastrous” agreement that would have eventually allowed for high-grade uranium enrichment.
He pushed back against the idea that current strikes require new authorizations, suggesting that the legal framework being used is the same one utilized by both Republican and Democratic presidents for decades.
Mullin concluded his time by framing the removal of key Iranian threats as a service to global security, challenging his colleagues to move past partisan optics. While the hearing was intended to provide a broad update on national defense, the sharp back-and-forth served as a reminder of the deep divisions in Washington over how—and when—the United States should project power in the Middle East.
READ: From The Octagon To The Border: Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s Hardline Path To DHS Power
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