Good Monday evening. In this edition: Trump sees extended operations in Iran; Pentagon warns more casualties expected; Rubio cites "imminent threat" as rationale; and lawmakers prepare to weigh in.
Plus, Melania, Austin, travel warning, WHCD, Zinke and Kiley.
Iran Strikes
President Trump said military operations against Iran would continue for as long as necessary to achieve U.S. objectives, delivering his first public remarks since the U.S. and Israel began joint strikes on the country early Saturday morning.
The president outlined four objectives: destroying Iran's missile capabilities, "annihilating" its navy, preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, and ensuring the Iranian regime cannot continue to "arm, fund and direct terrorist armies outside of their borders."
President Trump said the operation could last "four to five weeks" but that he was prepared "to go far longer."
"We are already substantially ahead of our time projections, but whatever the time is, it's okay. Whatever it takes," he said. "I don't get bored. There's nothing boring about this."
The operation — which U.S. and Israeli officials say is expected to intensify in the coming days — began with more than 1,000 targets struck in the first 24 hours.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader since 1989, and roughly 40 other senior Iranian officials were killed in an early wave of strikes, the result of months of CIA intelligence-gathering shared with Israeli counterparts.
President Trump announced the attacks in a prerecorded video from Mar-a-Lago posted early Saturday, saying they were necessary to "defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very hard, terrible people."
He also called on the Iranian people to reclaim their government once the military campaign concludes. "The hour of your freedom is at hand," he said. "When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations."
Iran responded with missile barrages targeting Israel and U.S.-allied nations in the Middle East, striking U.S. bases as well as heavily populated civilian areas.
Six U.S. service members have been killed in retaliatory strikes.
Separately, the Kuwaiti military shot down three American F-15 fighter jets in what was described as an "apparent friendly fire incident," though all six aircrew ejected safely.
Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, cautioned that the operation will "take some time" and that additional American casualties are likely.
"This is not a single, overnight operation," he said at a joint press conference with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. "The military objectives that CENTCOM and the Joint Force have been tasked with will take some time to achieve, and in some cases, will be difficult and gritty work."
"We expect to take additional losses, and as always, we will work to minimize U.S. losses," he added. "But as the secretary said, this is major combat operations."
Gen. Caine said the mission remains in its early stages and that additional U.S. forces are deploying to the Middle East.
"This work is just beginning and will continue," he said.
Despite President Trump's call for Iranians to "take over" their government, Secretary Hegseth denied the operation was aimed at regime change.
"This is not a so-called regime change war, but the regime sure did change, and the world is better off for it," he said.
Secretary Hegseth said the operation would not be "endless," calling the mission "clear" and "decisive."
"This is not Iraq. This is not endless," he said. "Our generation knows better, and so does this president. He called the last 20 years of nation building wars dumb, and he's right. This is the opposite. This operation is a clear, devastating, decisive mission: destroy the missile threat, destroy the navy, no nukes."
The Pentagon chief said the U.S. does not currently have boots on the ground in Iran but would not rule out that option, criticizing past administrations for signaling plans in advance.
"We're not going to go into the exercise of what we will or will not do," he said. "Why in the world would we tell you, the enemy, anybody, what we will or will not do in pursuit of an objective? We fight to win."
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. attacked Iran "preemptively" to protect American forces from retaliation after learning Israel was preparing to strike.
"We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action. We knew that that would precipitate an attack against American forces, and we knew that if we didn’t preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties," he said on Capitol Hill before briefing top lawmakers.
Secretary Rubio said the objective of the strikes is to degrade Iran's ballistic missile capabilities, which he argued could shield its nuclear program.
"What they are trying to do, and have been trying to do for a very long time, is build a conventional weapons capability as a shield where they can hide behind," he said. "Meaning there will come a point where they have so many conventional missiles, so many drones and can inflict so much damage that no one can do anything about their nuclear program."
He also argued President Trump did not need congressional approval for the strikes, saying no administration has accepted the War Powers Act as constitutional.
"There's no law that requires the president to have done anything with regards to this," he said. "We've complied with the law 100%, and we’re going to continue to comply with it."
Secretary Rubio said there are no ongoing diplomatic efforts with Iran and warned that the "hardest hits are yet to come."
"I'm not going to give away the details of our tactical efforts, but the hardest hits are yet to come from the U.S. military. The next phase will be even more punishing on Iran than it is right now," he said.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) warned the administration was steering the U.S. toward an "endless war" in the Middle East, calling it a "dangerous moment."
"Donald Trump has just launched America into a full-scale conflict against one of our most fervent adversaries without a plan, without an endgame and without authorization from Congress or even a debate in full view of the American people," he said on the floor.
"This is a war of choice, not necessity," he added. "There's one thing almost everybody agrees with: we are sick and tired of endless wars in the Middle East. And there is real danger that this is the road we are on right now."
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), conversely, praised the strikes as necessary to address the threat the Iranian regime poses to the world.
"It is clear that Iran poses a serious risk to America's national security interests as well as those of our allies and partners," he said.
"President Trump and his administration relentlessly pursued a diplomatic solution to the threat posed by Iran. But the Iranian regime refused diplomatic offramps. And so now the president is taking action."
Lawmakers in both chambers are preparing to vote this week on war powers resolutions seeking to restrict the administration's authority to conduct military action against Iran. The measures have no chance of becoming law but will serve as a symbolic test of congressional support.
The Senate resolution, sponsored by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), could receive a vote Tuesday or Wednesday. The House version, sponsored by Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY), is expected on the floor Thursday.
First lady Melania Trumpchaired a United Nations Security Council meeting on promoting "peace through education," becoming the first spouse of a world leader to preside over the 15-member panel. "The U.S. stands with all of the children throughout the world," she said. "I hope soon peace will be yours." The meeting came days after a girls' elementary school was bombed in Iran, killing at least 165 children, according to Iranian state media. Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran's ambassador to the U.N., called it "deeply shameful and hypocritical" for the U.S. to convene a meeting on protecting children while launching airstrikes on Iranian cities. "For the United States, 'protecting children' and 'maintaining international peace and security' clearly mean something very different from what the U.N. Charter provides," he told reporters.
Investigators are examining potential links between Sunday's mass shooting in Austin, Texas, and U.S. combat operations in Iran but cautioned that it is too early to draw conclusions. "We see those indicators," Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said. "The second shirt, with 'Iran,' the picture of the Shah on that t-shirt as well." FBI Special Agent Alex Doran said the FBI is reviewing those possible connections but warned against speculation. "Any declarations on what led to that motive would be premature," he said. The shooting, which occurred before 2am at a bar near the University of Texas campus in Austin, left two people dead and 14 others injured. Police shot and killed the gunman — identified as a 53-year-old Senegalese-born American citizen — at the scene.
The State Departmentwarned Americans in more than a dozen Middle East countries to depart immediately, citing "serious safety risks." The countries include Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. The warning comes amid a barrage of Iranian strikes across the region. Earlier in the day, the U.S. Embassy in Amman, Jordan, announced that its personnel had departed the diplomatic compound "due to a threat."
President Trumpsaid he will attend this year's White House Correspondents' Dinner on April 25, marking the first time he will participate in the annual event during either of his terms. "In honor of our Nation’s 250th Birthday, and the fact that these 'Correspondents' now admit that I am truly one of the Greatest Presidents in the History of our Country, the G.O.A.T., according to many, it will be my Honor to accept their invitation, and work to make it the GREATEST, HOTTEST, and MOST SPECTACULAR DINNER, OF ANY KIND, EVER!" he wrote on Truth Social. "Because the Press was extraordinarily bad to me, FAKE NEWS ALL, right from the beginning of my First Term, I boycotted the event, and never went as Honoree. However, I look forward to being with everyone this year. Hopefully, it will be something very Special."
Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT) announced that he will retire from Congress at the end of his term, citing health concerns. The first Navy SEAL elected to Congress, he represented Montana's at-large district from 2015 to 2017 before joining President Trump's first administration as Interior secretary. He resigned from that role in 2019 amid ethics investigations. He returned to Congress in 2023 to represent Montana's 1st District in the western part of the state. Though the district leans Republican, its population centers in college towns such as Missoula and Bozeman have Democrats eyeing it as a potential midterm pickup.
Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA) announced he will run in California's newly drawn 6th District, which he described as "Democratic-leaning but open-minded." The two-term lawmaker, who currently represents the 3rd District, is one of five California Republicans that Democrats are targeting under a new redistricting map advanced by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) in response to Republicans' own mid-decade redistricting efforts. "While this will be a more challenging race, I believe we can build a winning coalition for common sense," Rep. Kiley said in a statement.
For your radar…
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem testifies Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Watch LIVE on C-SPAN3 at 9am ET.
The House Oversight Committee this afternoon released the videos of former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testifying as part of its Epstein investigation. Watch them in their entirety on C-SPAN & C-SPAN3 all night long — or anytime on YouTube.
