Colorado lawmakers react after President Trump launches "Operation Epic Fury" against Iran
Colorado lawmakers have been expressing both support and concerns over a major military operation that the United States and Israel launched against Iran early Saturday.
Tensions between the U.S. and Iran have been escalating in recent weeks as the U.S. military moved over a dozen naval ships and aircraft into the Middle East, and the Trump administration continued with nuclear talks with Iranian officials. A month ago, the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group crossed into Central Command, which includes Iran and the Middle East region, after the commander of the Islamic Republic's Revolutionary Guard Corps warned his forces had their "finger on the trigger."
In a video on Truth Social posted Saturday, President Trump announced "Operation Epic Fury" and called on Iranian citizens to rise up and "take over your government."
Republican Congressman Gave Evans, a military veteran who serves Colorado's 8th District, said the operation is necessary to stop the threat of Iran's nuclear weapon capabilities and to protect national security. He also said he's praying for the safety of the American service members carrying out the mission.
In a statement on X, he said, "For 47 years, the Iranian regime has terrorized its own people and supported terrorist groups that killed Americans and our allies. Repeated efforts from the U.S. to negotiate in good faith and halt the expansion of Iran's nuclear weapons program were met with deception and defiance, as the radical regime rejected every opportunity for peace."
Rep. Jason Crow, a Democrat who represents Colorado's 6th District, is also a military veteran. He condemned what he called "military adventurism" and the effect military operations have on working class citizens.
In a video posted on X, Crow said, "You know, Americans are sick of this. I'm sick of this. I went to war three times for this country, and I saw the working class people that I grew up with, that I fought with, bearing the burden of deployment after deployment, conflict after conflict. Meanwhile, the elites in Washington continue to bang their war drums and talk tough, and it's always the working class people who pay the price."
Republican representative for Colorado's 5th Congressional District Jeff Crank took a decisive stance for intervention, stating, "For the last half century, Iran has targeted and killed Americans, attacked our allies, funded terrorism across the world, and pursued a nuclear bomb. That ends now."
Fellow Republican, Rep. Jeff Hurd of Colorado's 3rd District, agreed, asserting, "I support President Trump's decision to take decisive action to hold the Iranian regime accountable and to degrade its ability to threaten Americans and our allies. When American lives and security are at risk, we must be clear eyed and strong. Peace is best preserved through strength and resolve."
Democratic Congresswoman Diana DeGette, who serves Colorado's 1st District, joined Evans in condemning Iran's leadership as a "brutal autocracy that has oppressed the Iranian people," but asserted that congressional authorization is needed for such a large military operation.
In a statement released Saturday, she explained, "This morning, Donald Trump illegally began a massive military operation against Iran without consulting Congress. During his State of the Union address earlier this week, President Trump made no attempt to explain why he felt military action was necessary at this time."
DeGette said she has cosponsored the bipartisan Massie-Khanna War Powers Resolution and expects House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to force a vote on the resolution in the coming week.
Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper echoed DeGette's sentiments, stating, "President Trump has bypassed his constitutional duty to seek congressional authorization for operations in Iran. By failing to consult Congress, he operates without an articulated goal, strategy, or endgame. This unilateral action ignores most Americans' desire to avoid endless foreign wars, creating the distinct impression of a calculated distraction from his domestic failures, including the economy, ICE violence, and the unreleased Epstein files. While we would certainly welcome the fall of Iran's terror-sponsoring and repressive regime, the President's reckless approach leaves us facing profound, unanswered questions about the new dangers he has unleashed."
