Well, that's not the first time the President has said that he chose to launch Operation Epic Fury because he felt as though Iran was going to strike the United States and our assets in the region first. Again, I addressed this in the last briefing. This was a feeling the President had based on facts—facts provided to him by his top negotiators who had been engaged with the Iranian regime in a good-faith effort.
Mr. President: this was not an inevitability. This is a deliberate choice of aggression when diplomacy and security were within reach. Stop lying to the American people. The notion that a President can plunge the United States into a regional war in one of the most volatile places on earth - without even briefing Congress, much less securing its authorization - is irreconcilable with the text, structure, and history of the Constitution.
I think the President has the authority that he needs to conduct the activities and operations that are currently underway there. And as you know, there's a lot of controversy and questions around the War Powers Act, but I think that the president is acting in the best interest of the nation and our national security interests by ensuring that he's protecting Americans and American bases and installations in that region, as well as those of our allies.
President Trump has expressed his disagreement with our decision not to get involved in the initial strikes, but it is my duty to judge what is in Britain's national interest. That is what I have done, and I stand by it.
