Lindsey Graham: Republicans who slammed Trump administration's Soleimani briefing are 'empowering the enemy'


A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) believes his fellow Republican lawmakers who pushed back against the Trump administration's classified briefing on the killing of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani are "overreacting."
The briefing was held on Wednesday, covering the airstrike authorized by President Trump last week that left Soleimani dead. In the wake of the airstrike, Iran retaliated on Tuesday with its own missile attacks against two Iraqi bases hosting U.S. troops.
After the briefing, an angry Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) called it "insulting" and the worst he's ever heard regarding a military issue. He also revealed lawmakers were told there couldn't be any "divisions" or "dissension" because it would "send the wrong signal to the Iranians, and I think that's completely wrong." Lee said that the meeting convinced him to support the Democratic plan for a new war powers resolution.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Graham downplayed the criticism, telling reporters, "I think they're overreacting, quite frankly. Go debate all you want to. I'm going to debate you, trust me. I'm going to let people know that in this moment in time, to play this game with the War Powers Act, which I think is unconstitutional, whether you mean to or not, you're empowering the enemy."
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Ten Things You Need to Know Today: 28 September 2023
The Week’s daily digest of the news agenda, published at 8am
By The Week Staff Published
-
Crossword: September 28, 2023
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sudoku hard: September 28, 2023
The Week's daily hard sudoku puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
Biden creates White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention
Speed Read The office will be led by Vice President Kamala Harris
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Rishi Sunak lambasts China after allegations of spy in UK Parliament
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Judge denies Mark Meadows' request to move Georgia case to federal court
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson dies at 75
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Clarence Thomas officially discloses trips from billionaire GOP donor
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Judge schedules Trump federal election plot trial for crowded March 2024
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Trump surrenders in Georgia election subversion case
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, Putin ally-turned-rival, presumed dead in plane crash
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published