Former Fox News star Tucker Carlson came out against the Trump administration’s support for Israel after Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu launched a series of missile attacks against Iran targeting Iranian nuclear facilities. Carlson wrote in his newsletter that the U.S. should “drop Israel.”
(NOTE: Israel was already dealing with growing international condemnation for the conduct of its ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza, in which civilian casualties and blocked aid have created a humanitarian crisis.)
Fellow MAGA supporter and former Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL) defended Carlson against criticism from Republicans like former Bush White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer, who called Carlson a “carnival barker” after his “drop Israel” stance. And Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) weighed in with hesitation about escalation, writing “I don’t want to see Israel bombed or Iran bombed or Gaza bombed.”
Yet plenty of GOP lawmakers, indicating a fracture in the ranks, believe “drop Israel” is the wrong strategy: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), for example, has been vocal about wanting the U.S. to get involved against Iran and support Israel’s mission.
Graham told President Trump, via Fox News: “Be all in President Trump…If we need to provide bombs, provide bombs. If we need to fly planes with Israel, do joint operations.”
U.S. Congressman Thomas Massie (R-KY), a thorn in Trump’s side in Congress, aligns generally on the issue with Carlson, Greene, and Gaetz. Massie is proposing legislation that would strip Trump of the power to act unilaterally to support Israel with military force, and which would ensure sure any decision to wage war remains in the hands of Congress, not the executive branch.
Massie wrote: “This is not our war. But if it were, Congress must decide such matters according to our Constitution. I’m introducing a bipartisan War Powers Resolution tomorrow to prohibit our involvement. I invite all members of Congress to cosponsor this resolution.”
Signing on.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 17, 2025
The measure’s cross-aisle appeal was immediately evident. Both U.S. Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Ilhan Omar (D-MI) replied to Massie: “Signing on.” Rep. Don Meyer (D-VA) also replied: “Sign me up.”
Note: Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, introduced a similar war powers resolution on Monday while expressing concern about the escalating violence in the Middle East and its potential to pull the U.S. into conflict.
The Kaine resolution, like Massie’s, contends that “the American people have no interest in sending servicemembers to fight another forever war in the Middle East” and that “if we decide to place our nation’s men and women in uniform into harm’s way, we will have a debate and vote on it in Congress.”
MAGA supporters, some evidently not well-versed in the Constitution’s critical checks and balances, met Massie’s announcement with warnings about teaming up with Democrats. They also cautioned the Congressman over going against Trump. As one replied: “A president outranks congress so you must do war if he says so.”
Another replied, with the challenging logic: “You can introduce whatever resolution you want; Americans care about America, and if we go to war in the Middle East, then we are going to war.”