Leavitt says Jeffries did not answer ‘courtesy’ call on Iran strikes
The article reports a disagreement between white house press secretary Karoline Leavitt and House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries regarding the U.S. military strikes against Iran. Leavitt refuted claims that Democratic lawmakers,including jeffries,were not informed about the strikes beforehand. She asserted that Jeffries was unreachable prior to the operation but was briefed after it occurred, along with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. In contrast, Jeffries and other Democrats criticized President Trump’s actions for lack of congressional authorization and raised concerns over potential escalation in the Middle East. Leavitt also criticized Republican Rep. Thomas Massie for making similar claims about lack of briefings, suggesting he has alignment with Democratic perspectives. Following the strikes,both Leavitt and Secretary of State Marco Rubio cautioned Iran against retaliatory actions,such as closing the Strait of Hormuz. The piece highlights the partisan tensions surrounding the decision to strike Iranian nuclear sites.
Karoline Leavitt says Hakeem Jeffries did not answer ‘courtesy’ call on Iran strikes
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt pushed back against the notion that Democratic lawmakers were not briefed on the strikes against Iran in advance, adding that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) “couldn’t be reached.”
Jeffries is among the critics of the strikes, claiming that President Donald Trump “misled the country about his intentions and failed to seek congressional authorization for use of military force.” The top House Democrat also said the operation in Iran “risks American entanglement in a potentially disastrous war in the Middle East.”
Leavitt, however, rebuked the claims that no briefings were given prior to the strikes, insisting that there were “bipartisan calls.”
“We tried [Jeffries] before the strike and he didn’t pick up the phone, but he was briefed after, as well as Chuck Schumer was briefed prior to the strikes,” Leavitt said on Fox News’s Fox & Friends. “So this notion that CNN ran with, that the White House did not give a heads up to Democrats, is just completely false. In fact, both Sen. Schumer’s office and CNN had to retract that story last night because it was a blatant lie, and we showed them the timestamps from those phone calls.”
The Washington Examiner has contacted Jeffries’s office for comment.
Leavitt also criticized Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), who has also claimed that lawmakers were not briefed on the matter. The secretary suggested that Massie “should be a Democrat” because he is “more aligned” with that party and that Trump issued “courtesy” calls to lawmakers while still acting in his “legal authority” as president.
Trump has also expressed his ire with Massie, saying he is “not MAGA” and that the lawmaker votes “‘NO’ on virtually everything put before him.” Trump-aligned political advisers have since formed a political action committee in Kentucky with the goal of ousting Massie.
US’S QATAR EMBASSY WARNS AMERICANS TO SHELTER IN PLACE AS IRAN RETALIATION EXPECTED
Following the strikes against Iran, both Leavitt and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have warned Iran against closing the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation. The press secretary described closing the key water route for oil and gas as a “foolish” decision, while Rubio deemed such a decision to be “suicidal.”
Multiple Democratic lawmakers, including Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA), have criticized Trump’s decision to strike Iranian nuclear sites over the weekend, accusing Trump of “failure to brief Democratic lawmakers” on the matter.
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