Rep. Nathaniel Moran (R-TX), Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and former Republican Rep. Kevin Kiley (I-CA) pushed back on President Donald Trump, rejecting his statement that Iran’s “whole civilization will die tonight,” as at least 70 House Democrats called for impeachment or invocation of the 25th Amendment.
***UPDATE:*** The United States, Israel, and Iran have agreed to a two week ceasefire.
Trump took to Truth Social on Tuesday morning to warn that Iran’s “whole civilization will die tonight” unless “something revolutionarily wonderful” occurred after what he described as “Complete and Total Regime Change.” The post followed remarks Trump made Monday during the White House Easter Egg Roll, when he said the conflict could end quickly but that he wanted to “finish it up,” adding that “Iran CANNOT have a nuclear weapon.”
Moran said he supports Trump’s Iran actions under the Constitution and War Powers Resolution, but said he does not support “the destruction of a whole civilization” and that America must act through “just and moral means.”
Murkowski said Trump’s threat that “a whole civilization will die tonight” could not be dismissed as negotiating leverage, calling it an affront to American ideals that endangered Americans at home and abroad, distinguishing Iran’s ruling Islamic Republic from “the people and the civilization of Iran,” and urging both Trump and Iran’s leaders to de-escalate.
Kiley, who lost his committee assignments after resigning from the Republican Party and filing for reelection under California’s “No Party Preference” designation, likewise rejected the formulation. Kiley said the United States “does not destroy civilizations” and should not threaten to do so as a negotiating tactic. He added that Congress has an oversight responsibility over ongoing military operations and over U.S. obligations under domestic law and international agreements.
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) said on the John Solomon Reports podcast, “I hope and pray that President Trump is just using this as bluster. I do not want to see us start blowing up civilian infrastructure… We are not at war with the Iranian people. We are trying to liberate them.”
Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican who resigned in January and whose former 14th District seat was being filled Tuesday in a special election, posted on X, “25TH AMENDMENT!!! Not a single bomb has dropped on America. We cannot kill an entire civilization. This is evil and madness.”
While Republicans aired those objections, Democrats pushed for removal more openly. Andrew Solender of Axios stated on X, “Pelosi brings it to 70 House Democrats calling for Trump’s impeachment or removal via the 25th Amendment.”
Solender also shared Rep. Shri Thanedar’s (D-MI) letter to Vice President JD Vance and the Cabinet urging them to invoke the 25th Amendment, which Thanedar said he planned to “circulate to colleagues.” Thanedar wrote that “President Trump is a threat to our country and to the world; he must be removed from office immediately,” arguing Trump’s Iran remarks were “not the words of a sane person, nor one who is fit to serve as president.” The letter also cited tariffs, immigration enforcement, election issues, Texas redistricting, and damage to U.S. alliances.
Solender additionally shared Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX)’s letter to Vice President JD Vance and the Cabinet urging invocation of Section Four of the 25th Amendment. Crockett wrote that it had become “indisputably apparent” that the president was “deranged” and “likely suffering from dementia,” and argued that it was “long overdue” for Vance, the Cabinet, and Congress to declare him unfit to discharge the powers and duties of office. She also wrote that “the country and the Constitution remain in jeopardy with each passing day Donald Trump is President of the United States.”
An Axios report said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and other top Democrats were focusing on forcing an Iran war powers vote later this month rather than publicly leading the 25th Amendment effort, and that discussions of impeachment or a Cabinet letter “have not yet reached the leadership level.”
White House spokesman Davis Ingle, according to Axios, dismissed the Democrat campaign, telling Axios, “This is pathetic. Democrats have been talking about impeaching President Trump since before he was even sworn into office.” Ingle added, “The Democrats in Congress are deranged, weak, and ineffective, which is why their approval ratings are at historic lows.”
That impeachment push is also being reinforced by activist groups. On Monday, Free Speech For People released a Lake Research Partners survey showing that 52 percent of likely 2026 voters support impeaching Trump, while 40 percent oppose it, after respondents were told that lawmakers had backed impeachment over alleged constitutional violations, ICE actions, and the war with Iran. The survey found that 55 percent of independents and 14 percent of Republicans support impeachment. Free Speech For People President John Bonifaz said that “more than 1 million people across the country have joined us in calling for the impeachment removal of Donald Trump from public office” through the group’s campaign and added that the organization has “documented more than 25 grounds for impeachment.”