WASHINGTON (TNND) — Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., on Thursday fired back at Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth after he created a viral X post threatening Iran.
Hegseth posted an open message to Iran, saying the United States is aware of its continued support of the Houthis. The Department of Defense, he wrote, would not tolerate this.
“You know very well what the U.S. Military is capable of — and you were warned,” Hegseth’s post reads. “You will pay the CONSEQUENCE at the time and place of our choosing.”
That post received over 9 million impressions as of Friday morning.
Rep. Massie fired back, arguing the post seemingly oversteps the right of Congress to declare war.
“I support this administration, but the Secretary of Defense doesn’t have the Constitutional authority to declare war on a sovereign country,” he wrote. “A planned military attack on Iran is an Act of War and requires a vote of Congress according to the U.S. Constitution.”
The representative then engaged several commenters who defended Hegseth’s post.
“And there’s nothing with me telling the administration that an attack without congressional authorization would be unconstitutional,” he wrote in response to a commenter who suggested Hegseth’s post is “just a tweet.”
Whan another commenter suggested Hegseth’s post is a response to “clear and present danger,” Rep. Massie explained that still isn’t justification to overstep the authority of Congress.
“The SecDef’s language itself demonstrates he isn’t responding to the type of imminent danger that would authorize unilateral military action by the executive branch under the War Powers Act (even if the War Powers Act were Constitutional),” he added.
The banter comes as Rep. Massie continues to push back against the Trump administration. Rep. Massie reported receiving a wave of donations in March after Trump called for Kentucky voters to unseat him in 2026.
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