Following joint U.S. and Israel strikes on Iran, Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared the “old world” he knew “is gone,” urging American allies to adapt to this new geopolitical era and help Washington forge a new path for the West. He stressed the importance of ongoing private dialogues with allies. Concurrently, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Rubio notified senior congressional leaders ahead of the operation. This addressed critics questioning if President Donald Trump authorized strikes without full congressional approval, as he monitored the situation from Mar-a-Lago and spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu.
Leavitt detailed that Rubio briefed the “Gang of Eight”—comprising Senate and House majority/minority leaders, plus intelligence committee chairs/ranking members—reaching seven of eight members. House Speaker Mike Johnson confirmed these briefings. The notification process fueled debate over presidential war powers: while the 1947 National Security Act requires Congress be “fully informed,” presidents historically interpret this as satisfied by briefing the Gang of Eight, not full committees, as noted by the Harvard Kennedy School.
The strikes drew immediate criticism from legislators like Rep. Thomas Massie, who deemed them “Acts of war unauthorized by Congress.” Massie, with Rep. Ro Khanna, planned legislation to curb Trump’s unilateral strike authority. In parallel, Rubio announced Iran’s designation as a state sponsor of wrongful detention. He cited Iran’s history, from Ayatollah Khomeini’s endorsement of hostage-taking of US embassy staff, to using innocent Americans for political leverage. Rubio highlighted Trump’s executive order and the Countering Wrongful Detention Act of 2025, urging Iran to release all unjustly detained Americans to end this designation.
