Trump's strike on Iran was 'right thing to do,' Illinois Republican says
Iran warned US in advance of missile strike on base, Trump says
President Trump said Iran gave advanced warning of an attack on an American military base in Qatar on Monday.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - A Republican member of Congress representing parts of northern and central Illinois voiced support for President Trump's decision to bomb Iranian nuclear sites over the weekend.
Rep. Darin LaHood said he did not believe that there will be an escalation of U.S. troops on the ground, even as the conflict between Iran and Israel escalates.
What we know:
Soon after LaHood spoke with Fox 32's Paris Schutz, Trump announced that Iran gave the U.S. an advanced warning of its retaliatory attacks on an American base in Qatar on Monday.
Iran attacked Al Udeid Air Base – a key U.S. facility in the Mideast in an act of retaliation. The attack comes just days after the U.S. carried out a surprise attack on three of Iran's nuclear sites.
The Iranian strike involved short and medium-range ballistic missiles and came after Qatar announced the closure of its airspace on Monday.
The Pentagon said no casualties were reported at the base.
RELATED: Iran attacks US air base in Qatar; no casualties reported
LaHood told Fox 32 that the majority in his party supported Trump's actions and decried comparisons to the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
"Taking out this nuclear ability of Iran to have nuclear warheads was the right thing to do in my view, and I think the vast majority of Republicans believe that," he said. "This is not Iraq. We are not sending troops in. We're not, you know, having a ground offensive. This was three targeted and strategic strikes by our bombers that took out their nuclear facility. Period."
Lahood also echoed Trump's claim that National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard was wrong in her testimony a few months ago when she said there was no evidence showing Iran was building a nuclear weapon.
There are a handful of Republicans that have criticized the bombing, claiming it goes against Trump's campaign promise not to entangle the U.S. in more foreign wars. But Lahood said the isolationist wing of his party is in the minority. There are varying reports as to how successful the strikes were on Saturday at taking out nuclear capabilities in Iran.
Lahood said he is with President Trump.
"This was total obliteration of those facilities," he said. "So I take him at his word on that. We'll learn new information as we find out more about those strikes and what happened, but I feel very confident, and I know the Department of Defense does, on the goal of significantly destabilizing and eliminating the nuclear capability of Iran, and that was the goal all along."
The other side:
U.S. Reps. Mike Quigley and Raja Krishnamoorthi, both suburban Democrats, are also on the House Intelligence Committee and were briefed on the latest developments.
Fox 32 will hear from Quigley on Monday night for Paris on Politics.
Still, Democrats have been more critical of Trump's actions in the Middle East, some even calling the strikes "illegal."
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) spoke out on the retaliatory strikes in the Middle East:
"As Iran launches retaliatory strikes in the Middle East, it’s important for Americans to know that over the past five months, the Trump Admin has removed dozens of senior officials with decades of national security experience and placed a 22-year-old recent college graduate with NO threat prevention experience in charge of our primary terrorism prevention center. Only MAGA loyalists allowed in the Trump Departments of Justice and Homeland Security—Americans’ security be damned."
U.S. Rep. Danny Davis (D-Chicago) said in a statement:
"Once again, President Trump has overstepped his bounds and is acting like a king, dictator, or something worse, without any interaction or discussion with Congress. He has attacked congressional intelligence.
"Like the song said WAR, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing but to kill, maim, and mainly, disrupt and destroy.
"The American people are demonstrating each and every day that we believe Peace and diplomacy are better ways of settling disputes. There's uncertainty as to what Iran may have or may not have been developing in the way of nuclear war weaponry. Let's rely on intelligence, not the thinking of one man and a few advisors who think whatever he thinks; let's negotiate, not bomb."