U.S. Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, is being criticized for defending the Trump administration and its justification of the war in Iran, while the majority of Americans (64 percent) disapprove of the war.
As seen below on Face the Nation, when asked if the Strait of Hormuz has been mined — after President Trump posted contradictory information on social media — Turner replied, “I think you’ll have to ask the president.”
Host Margaret Brennan replied, “But that’s the point. That Congress has not been briefed.”
Brennan followed up by asking, “As a member on Oversight and Armed Services, do you feel like this has actually been adequately explained to you, because the American public does not?”
BRENNAN: Did they mine the strait? Because Trump also said they might not have
TURNER: You’ll have to ask the president
BRENNAN: That’s the point. Congress hasn’t been briefed
TURNER: It’s his tweet
BRENNAN: You’re a member of oversight and armed services
TURNER: You’ll… pic.twitter.com/IGtEFBn2qB
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 12, 2026
Turner replied, “The president just tweeted this this morning, so you’ll have to ask the president.”
Brennan laughed, “We would love to ask the president, or the Secretary of State or the Secretary of Defense, but members of Congress are the only ones sitting here today.”
Turner, who is running for re-election in Ohio, did provide an answer when asked about Vice President JD Vance‘s failed negotiations with Iran in Pakistan. Turner said, “When Vice President Vance stood at the podium and said that the negotiations had broken off because Iran was not willing to declare that they would not become a nuclear state, that should have sent a chill both through Europe and around the world.”
When asked how he’s justifying the war in Iran to his constituents in Dayton, Ohio, Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) says “no one is willing to trade lower gas prices for Iran becoming a nuclear state.”
“When Vice President Vance stood at the podium and said that the negotiations had… pic.twitter.com/6GYW7chJi0
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) April 12, 2026
Turner then asserted that “no one is willing to trade lower gas prices for Iran becoming a nuclear state.” The Congressman said that Trump has “made it very clear” that the war in Iran is about “ensuring that Iran does not become a nuclear state.”
Turner did not mention that, in June, Trump said U.S. military attacks “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program, and that in March the U.S. intelligence community assessed that Iran was not building a nuclear weapon.