ÃÛèÖÊÓƵ

Addressing the nation from the White House, President Donald Trump asserted that IranÃÛèÖÊÓƵ key nuclear sites were “completely and fully obliterated.â€� There was no independent damage assessment.

Trump acted without congressional authorization, and he warned that there would be additional strikes if Tehran retaliated against U.S. forces.

Reaction came swiftly from WisconsinÃÛèÖÊÓƵ members of Congress and U.S. senators, from across political aisles.

U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin

“I have been clear-eyed that Iran is a threat to the safety of people across the world and cannot have a nuclear weapon, and thatÃÛèÖÊÓƵ exactly why I was proud to support the 2015 deal that restricted IranÃÛèÖÊÓƵ nuclear capability. But President TrumpÃÛèÖÊÓƵ reckless decision to leave that deal allowed IranÃÛèÖÊÓƵ nuclear program to flourish and got us into this whole situation,â€� U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat, said in a statement on Sunday.

“President TrumpÃÛèÖÊÓƵ bombing of Iran without CongressÃÛèÖÊÓƵ approval ignores the Constitution, is putting our men and women in uniform at grave risk, and puts us on the verge of an all-out war. President Trump owes the American people some answers on why he thinks he can flout the law and what the path forward is to find a peaceful solution,â€� BaldwinÃÛèÖÊÓƵ statement continued. “We should be learning lessons from our war in Iraq and what it means to engulf us in a conflict across the globe. I did not support that war, and I don’t support this one.â€�

“Diplomacy, not war, is the answer here. I stand with the people of Wisconsin who do not want to get into another war in the Middle East and put service members at risk. This administration must choose to do the hard work and come to the table to negotiate in good faith with Iran to rein in their nuclear program,â€� BaldwinÃÛèÖÊÓƵ statement concluded.

U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil

U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, a Republican from Janesville who represents WisconsinÃÛèÖÊÓƵ 1st Congressional District, said in a post on X on Monday that “Iran cannot be allowed to have a nuclear weapon. Iran, through its terrorist proxies, has engaged in war and terrorism for decades and has killed hundreds of Americans. A nuclear-armed Iran is an unacceptable risk to U.S. national security and the security of our allies, including Israel.â€�

“Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has squandered our good-faith efforts to negotiate for nuclear disarmament and left the US with few options other than to destroy IranÃÛèÖÊÓƵ ability to have a nuclear weapon. President Trump acted decisively to stop this risk,â€� Steil continued. “This is safer without a nuclear-armed Iranian government.â€�

Telephone Town Hall

In a scheduled Telephone Town Hall held at noon on Monday, Steil answered several peopleÃÛèÖÊÓƵ questions about TrumpÃÛèÖÊÓƵ action to bomb Iran.

Steil began the Telephone Town Hall by saying he believes itÃÛèÖÊÓƵ “important that we are focused on peace. That peace should be the goal, but Iran is dangerous and with a nuclear weapon, that posed a major threat to the country and AmericaÃÛèÖÊÓƵ allies.â€�

“The broader goal here is to bring peace and stability, not only to the Middle East, but to the U.S. national security interests in the region, and also here in the United States of America,â€� Steil continued. “So, if anything, we should all collectively say a prayer for our troops that are currently overseas and in harmÃÛèÖÊÓƵ way, (and for the) courageous actions of the troops that conducted the strike in Iran.â€�

“Obviously a large number of our troops are stationed throughout the Middle East in a very dangerous time, so our thoughts and prayers are with those individuals.�

Steil, in response to a caller who asked about Trump acting without authorization from Congress, said America has not declared war on Iran. He said that a declaration of war would need to be authorized by Congress.

“ThereÃÛèÖÊÓƵ no such resolution before Congress, and the Congress has not acted in that manner. The president is commander in chief. The president has significant authority, as under the War Powers resolution, to act in the defense of our national interest,â€� Steil said.

Steil defended the presidentÃÛèÖÊÓƵ decision to strike quietly and decisively with only select people informed in advance, saying that was appropriate due to the level of secrecy required of the operation.

Steil said he planned to attend a security briefing Tuesday to hear more details on the operation.

“The president made the decision to strike the nuclear side to prevent Iran from having that weapon. And so, he had the legal right to do that, the constitutional right to do that,â€� Steil said. “I’ll be having a security briefing here tomorrow where I’ll have some additional information and additional understanding of the decision-making process that the president went through, but I think itÃÛèÖÊÓƵ important to reflect the goal here is to reach peace, not only in the region, but across the board. And having Iran that does not have a nuclear weapon, actually, I think moves us in that direction.â€�

{span style=�font-size: 12px;�}U.S. Rep Mark Pocan{/span}

U.S. Rep Mark Pocan, a Democrat from Madison who represents WisconsinÃÛèÖÊÓƵ 2nd Congressional District, posted on X on Sunday that “Donald Trump just bombed Iran without any authorization from Congress.â€�

Pocan called on Congress to “immediately pass U.S Rep. Thomas MassieÃÛèÖÊÓƵ War Powers Resolution to block Trump from dragging the US into an unconstitutional war in the Middle East.â€�

U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson

U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, a Republican, said in a statement on Sunday that “Iran has been at war with the US since 1979. They are the largest state sponsor of terrorism.�

“I agree with President Trump that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. I hope tonightÃÛèÖÊÓƵ strike has accomplished that goal once and for all. I support his decision to do so.â€�