Some Republicans break with Trump over his Iran civilization threat
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Support for President Donald Trump’s war with Iran was clearly fraying within his own party, with some in the GOP pushing back against the president’s threat Tuesday morning.
Trump has been suggesting for several days that he would order the military to destroy much of Iran’s civilian infrastructure, including energy fields and bridges, if the country did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump raised that flag again on Tuesday morning, declaring that “an entire civilization will die tonight” if Iran did not act before 8 p.m. While the threat was reversed shortly before deadline in a Truth Social post revealing a two-week ceasefire following talks with Pakistani leaders, Trump’s strategy is unpredictable.
“Nearly all past disputes between the United States and Iran have been agreed upon, but a two-week period will allow the Agreement to be finalized and completed,” Trump said. “As President and on behalf of the United States of America representing the countries of the Middle East, it is an honor that this long-term problem is close to a solution.”
Security forces monitor the crowd during the funeral ceremony for Iranian Revolutionary Guard Marine Commander Alireza Tangsiri, along with other senior naval commanders and their families killed in US-Israeli strikes in Tehran, Iran, on April 1, 2026. (Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)
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He added that the administration had received a 10-point proposal from Iran and that officials “believe this is a workable basis for negotiation.”
While Republicans have largely remained silent on the war, many refuse to use the term, even though Trump has referred to it as such several times. But his latest threat has rattled some in the GOP, who see it as a betrayal of how America operated during wartime.
Yet they are not demanding that Congress reassert itself while Operation Epic Rage continues in the Middle East.
“So let me be clear: I do not support the destruction of an ‘entire civilization,'” Rep. Nathaniel Moran, R-Texas, wrote on social media Tuesday afternoon. “That’s not who we are, and that’s not consistent with the principles that have long guided America.”
“I have supported and will continue to support a strong national defense that is disciplined and firmly rooted in protecting the safety and security of the American people,” the Texas Republican added. “But how we protect the lives of innocents is just as important as how we fight the enemy.”
And Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who opposed Trump on Venezuela but largely toed the party line on Iran, called for an end to the sabre-rattling.
He claimed that his threat “cannot be justified as an attempt to gain advantage in negotiations with Iran.”
“This type of rhetoric is an affront to the ideals that our nation has sought to defend and advance around the world for nearly 250 years,” Murkowski told X. “This undermines our long-standing role as a global beacon of freedom and directly endangers Americans both abroad and at home.”
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The president’s close ally is Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis. Others, like , hoped Trump’s threat was a “hoax.”
“I don’t want to see us not at war with the Iranian people. We’re trying to liberate them,” Johnson said.
Although they have publicly renounced the latest threat, neither has called for legal action. Both Murkowski and Johnson have repeatedly voted against war powers resolutions put forward by Senate Democrats seeking to thwart Trump’s authority in Iran.
Still, Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, has vowed to oppose further funding for the president’s Iran campaign until Congress authorizes the war and former Republican independent Rep. Kevin Kiley wants Congress to oversee the president’s Iran campaign.
So far, neither chamber has held an oversight hearing.
Rep. Kevin Kiley, who recently left the Republican Party ahead of a potentially hurtful reelection bid, wrote on social media: “The United States does not destroy civilizations. Nor are we threatening to do so as some kind of negotiating tactic.”
Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., questions Attorney General Pam Bondi during the House Judiciary Committee hearing titled “Oversight of the U.S. Department of Justice,” held Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, in the Rayburn building. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc)
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Democrats in Congress pushed back against Trump’s threat on Tuesday, with many lawmakers calling for the president to be impeached or removed from office through the 25th Amendment. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, D.R.I. Some Democrats, including: Offers “unrealistic” In the face of widespread opposition from the GOP.
The House and Senate are not scheduled to return to Washington until the week of April 13.
