Fetterman Only Dem Who Opposed Party’s Iran ‘War Powers’ Push
Once again, Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania defied the rest of his party, this time by opposing an attempt on Wednesday to pass a war powers resolution that would force President Donald Trump to limit actions against Iran.
Supporters of the measure, along with a related one in the House known as war powers resolutions, recognized that they faced significant challenges due to the near-unanimous backing for the war among the Republicans who control Congress. However, they emphasized that the votes were still important as a way to test lawmakers, especially considering Trump’s opposition to seeking congressional approval for the joint Israeli-American operations against Iran.
The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on another measure this Thursday, which also encounters significant hurdles. This is partly because a small group of pro-Israel Democrats has introduced competing legislation, The Intercept reported.
While Fetterman opposed the Senate bill, one Republican – Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky – sided with Democrats in supporting it.
Fetterman said on Wednesday that Trump’s actions to destroy Iran’s nuclear ambitions was “entirely appropriate” and that U.S. and Israeli forces should continue to target whoever is selected to succeed slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“Just keep killing them until they’re gone,” Fetterman told CNN’s Kate Bolduan on CNN News Central.
“I absolutely support that. I think that’s entirely appropriate until hopefully they’ll pick someone that realizes that they need to live and coexist in peace in the region and stop trying to destroy Israel and to stabilize the region,” he added.
Khamenei, who served as the supreme leader for over three decades, was killed in joint U.S. and Israeli strikes early Saturday morning that targeted his compound and Iran’s nuclear program.
Some international media reports indicate that Iran’s Assembly of Experts chose Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, as his successor on Tuesday; however, this has not been confirmed by state media, The Hill reported.
An Israeli airstrike reportedly struck the building during a meeting of officials who were voting.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned on Wednesday that any leader appointed by the regime would be “an unequivocal target for elimination.”
“It does not matter what his name is or the place where he hides,” Katz wrote in a post on the social platform X, describing the plot as an “integral part of the objectives” of the ongoing military operation.
“We will continue to act with full force, together with our American partners, to crush the regime’s capabilities and create the conditions for the Iranian people to overthrow it and replace it,” Katz continued.
Israel has clearly stated its goal of pursuing regime change in Iran, while U.S. officials have emphasized that nation-building is not part of their agenda. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have described the mission as focused on eliminating nuclear and missile threats, despite President Trump encouraging the Iranian people to “take over” their government.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Trump mentioned that “most of the people” he envisioned leading Iran next are already deceased. He cautioned that the worst-case scenario would be a successor who is as extreme or even more extreme than Khamenei.
“I guess the worst case would be we do this and then somebody takes over who’s as bad as the previous person, right? That could happen, we don’t want that to happen, it would probably be the worst,” he said.
Pennsylvania’s other senator, Dave McCormack, a Republican, also voted against the Democrat-led war powers resolution.
Iranian officials told U.S. negotiators ahead of military operations that the country had managed to hide its nuclear weapons development from international monitors while enriching enough uranium for at least 11 bombs.
Obama Accuses JD Vance Of Promoting ‘Blood And Soil’ Politics
Former President Barack Obama rarely mentions Vice President JD Vance by name, but that changed this week with one of his sharpest public attacks since Vance took office.
The comments immediately fueled speculation that Democrats are beginning to focus more attention on the vice president as Republicans look ahead to the post-Trump era.
Speaking Thursday during a conversation with author Malcolm Gladwell, Obama accused Vance of promoting what he described as a “blood and soil” vision of America, despite being married to Usha Vance, the daughter of Indian immigrants.
Obama made the remarks while discussing the Reconstruction era and arguing that many of the same debates over citizenship, voting rights and national identity continue today.
“We have a politics now that at least one of our major parties has been captured by politics that is not that subtle about suggesting that ‘We the people’ means a certain kind of people,” Obama said.
“When you have the vice president, current vice president, making a speech that is basically a blood and soil version of ‘We the people,’ that it matters who your parents were and how long they’ve been here despite him being married to a daughter of an immigrant himself.”
The phrase “blood and soil” is historically associated with Nazi Germany and white nationalist ideology.
Obama went on to argue that debates over who belongs in America remain central to the nation’s politics.
“That echoes, then, ideas about who can be a citizen, who belongs, who gets to make decisions,” he said.
Gladwell followed by accusing Vance of hypocrisy, arguing that the vice president was making what he called a nativist argument despite his own family’s immigrant background.
Obama agreed.
“That is progress,” Obama said.
“Listen, hypocrisy is progress. It is, because it means that you feel guilty enough to either lie to yourself or others.”
Fox News Digital reported that it reached out to Vance’s office for comment.
Obama did not identify the specific speech he was criticizing, but Vance’s most recent nationally televised remarks came during Independence Day celebrations marking America’s 250th birthday.
In that speech, Vance encouraged Americans to reject what he called a “two-dimensional view” of the country focused only on its historical failures.
“So what I’d ask you to do, my fellow Americans, on our 250th birthday, is to reject the two-dimensional view of your fellow citizens and reject the two-dimensional view of your country,” Vance said.
“Reject the view of your nation that sees only its sins, but not its grace and its greatness.”
He also emphasized that America’s accomplishments were achieved by “a common people working towards a common future.”
Obama has generally avoided making Vance a regular target since the vice president took office.
One notable exception came during the 2024 presidential campaign when then-Vice President Kamala Harris selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate.
Without naming Vance directly, Obama contrasted Harris’ choice with the Republican ticket.
“When a presidential candidate chooses a running mate, it says a lot about who they are and what kind of president they’ll be,” Obama said at the time, Fox News reported.
Political observers have increasingly discussed Vance as a potential frontrunner for the 2028 Republican presidential nomination, though he has not announced any plans to run.
Against that backdrop, Obama’s unusually direct criticism is likely to fuel speculation that some Democrats are beginning to sharpen their message against a politician they view as a likely future standard-bearer for the Republican Party. While no Democratic leaders have publicly described their strategy in those terms, prominent figures often begin drawing contrasts with potential future rivals well before a presidential campaign officially begins.
Whether that proves to be the case remains to be seen, but Obama’s remarks marked one of his most pointed critiques of Vance to date and ensured the vice president once again found himself at the center of the national political conversation.
