California Governor Gavin Newsom, the United Nations, and several Democratic Bay Area and Central Coast congressional representatives denounced major military strikes by the United States and Israel in Iran on Saturday.
The military operation was announced in a speech by President Donald Trump late Friday night Pacific Time, which was Saturday morning in Iran. Trump called for Iranians to overthrow the government. Before his call for regime change, the goal of the military operation was to destroy Iran’s ability to produce a nuclear weapon, something the Trump administration said was already accomplished in 2025.
U.S. Rep. John Garamendi, D-Fairfield, slammed the administration for launching the attacks without congressional approval.
“Once again, in direct violation of the United States Constitution, President Donald Trump has ordered attacks against Iran without congressional authorization,” Garamendi said. “This marks the second instance this year in which the President has undertaken military action without the approval of Congress, an action that should concern all Americans.”
The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services said it was coordinating with the federal Department of Homeland Security and local law enforcement to monitor for any threats and said there had been none as of about 8 a.m. Saturday.
A protest rally was being planned by groups online at 3 p.m. in San Francisco, at the Speaker Nancy Pelosi Federal Building on 7th Street.
Newsom echoed Trump’s call for regime change but said the war started by the U.S. and Israel was “illegal.”
“The corrupt and repressive Iranian regime must never have nuclear weapons,” Newsom wrote on X. “The leadership of Iran must go. But that does not justify the President of the United States engaging in an illegal, dangerous war that will risk the lives of our American service members and our friends without justification to the American people.”
The attacks, and Iran’s counterattacks, were condemned by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
“I call for an immediate cessation of hostilities and de-escalation,” Guterres said. “Failing to do so risks a wider regional conflict with grave consequences for civilians and regional stability. I strongly encourage all parties to return immediately to the negotiating table.”
U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, pointed out that the Trump administration said last year that military strikes then had destroyed Iran’s nuclear program.
“In the dead of night, President Trump started an unauthorized, unconstitutional war with Iran,” Thompson said in a statement. “As a combat veteran, I know the terrible realities of war and I am deeply opposed to any unprovoked strikes carried out without Congressional authorization — authorization that is explicitly required by our constitution.”
He called on Speaker Mike Johnson to reconvene the House of Representatives and vote on a war powers resolution that could limit the president’s authority to continue waging war.
U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla similarly called on congress to act.
“The Constitution is clear, and Republican members of Congress must join us in holding this administration accountable and restoring Congress’s role in foreign policy,” he said in a statement.
U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Santa Cruz, also questioned the Trump administration’s end game.
“For the eighth time in his presidency, Donald Trump attacked a country without informing or getting buy-in from the American people,” Panetta said in a statement.
U.S. Rep. Sam Liccardo, D-San Jose, similarly said Trump had not provided any strategy beyond a bombing campaign.
“Trump justified last year’s attacks on Iran by claiming that he ‘obliterated’ Iran’s nuclear capabilities; if true, he wouldn’t need this year’s war to do so,” Liccardo said. Trump urges regime change, yet no mere bombing campaign–no matter how horrific or brutal–can deliver that outcome. In Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam, and even Venezuela, history shows that regime change requires a far more protracted engagement than the American public will support.
By Thomas Hughes / Bay City News
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