Nancy Pelosi's statement on the assassination of Qasem Soleimani makes it clear that Donald Trump and his rogue administration acted on their own without even a courtesy notification to the Gang of 8 of what was to come.
Her statement, released hours after the attack, makes that clear:
“American leaders’ highest priority is to protect American lives and interests. But we cannot put the lives of American servicemembers, diplomats and others further at risk by engaging in provocative and disproportionate actions. Tonight’s airstrike risks provoking further dangerous escalation of violence. America – and the world – cannot afford to have tensions escalate to the point of no return.
“The Administration has conducted tonight’s strikes in Iraq targeting high-level Iranian military officials and killing Iranian Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani without an Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) against Iran. Further, this action was taken without the consultation of the Congress.
“The full Congress must be immediately briefed on this serious situation and on the next steps under consideration by the Administration, including the significant escalation of the deployment of additional troops to the region.”
Apparently there is no requirement that Congress be notified, not that this administration would care either way.
Donald Trump is giving a speech to evangelicals in Florida later today. I fully expect it to be an extravaganza of evangelical celebration of the end times. This attack was meant to bolster his standing with the base and wobbly evangelicals, consequences be damned.
