This story has been updated to add Rep. David Taylor’s response.
President Donald Trump’s decision to bomb Iran scrambled the usual party line reactions, with the delegation’s lone Democrat U.S. Rep. Greg Landsman praising the attack and local Republican House members criticizing it – and in one case, drawing Trump’s wrath.
Here’s a look at how the Greater Cincinnati delegation responded to the June 21 bombings of Iranian nuclear sites.
Rep. Greg Landsman, D
District: 1st, which includes the city of Cincinnati, parts of eastern Hamilton County, and all of Warren County.
Home: Cincinnati’s Mount Washington neighborhood.
Response: While Rep. Greg Landsman has largely opposed Trump administration policies, the most recent decision to launch attacks on three nuclear sites in Iran is one he favors.
“This is not a war,” Landsman said during a virtual press conference June 22. “This is an attempt to end this chaos to bring about peace and to avoid what would be a catastrophic event.”
Immediately following the strikes, he posted on X: “We don’t yet know what this means for the regime’s nuclear work or ambitions, but it absolutely means that the regime has been further weakened – which is good for those who want peace.”
Rep. Warren Davidson, R
District: 8th, which includes western Hamilton County, all of Butler County, and several western Ohio counties.
Home: Troy.
Response: Davidson questioned whether President Donald Trump’s decision to bomb Iranian nuclear sites was constitutional on June 21.
“While President Trump’s decision may prove just, it’s hard to conceive a rationale that’s Constitutional,” Davidson, R-Troy, posted on X.
Davidson is a strong supporter of Trump, but has disagreed with the president before.
In May, Davidson was one of two Republican members of Congress, along with Kentucky’s Thomas Massie, to vote against Trump’s so called “big beautiful bill.”
Rep. David Taylor, R
District: 2nd, which includes Clermont County and several other southern Ohio counties.
Home: Amelia.
Response: “Grateful for a successful mission, troops that are safe, a safer Middle East, and a President that exemplifies peace through strength,” Taylor wrote on X. “Now it is time for Iran to come to the table and negotiate an enduring peace without the threat of hostilities or nuclear warfare.”
Rep. Thomas Massie, R
District: Kentucky’s 4th congressional district, which includes all of Northern Kentucky.
Home: Garrison.
Stance: Massie came out firing on X shortly after Trump announced the bombings.
After quickly calling the act unconstitutional, Massie went on to say:
“When two countries are bombing each other daily in a hot war, and a third country joins the bombing, that’s an act of war. I’m amazed at the mental gymnastics being undertaken by neocons in DC (and their social media bots) to say we aren’t at war… so they can make war.”
Massie recently joined Ro Khanna, a California Democrat, in introducing a resolution that would block U.S. involvement in the conflict between Iran and Israel without congressional approval.
Massie’s stance drew a rebuke from President Trump himself, who posted on Truth Social Sunday that Massie is “weak, ineffective” and “disrespectful to our military.” Trump again promised to back a Republican primary challenge to Massie.
“MAGA should drop this pathetic LOSER, Tom Massie, like the plague! The good news is that we will have a wonderful American Patriot running against him in the Republican Primary, and I’ll be out in Kentucky campaigning really hard.”
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky
Response: McConnell, who has disagreed with some Trump policies and been a subject of the president’s ire, took a more measured approach, but praised the attacks, nonetheless.
“I commend the President for authorizing decisive action and all U.S. servicemembers responsible for carrying it out. The United States’ interest in denying Iran a nuclear weapon, in standing with our ally, Israel, and in reestablishing credible deterrent power is undeniable and urgent,” McConnell said in a prepared statement.
“Seizing this opportunity is not an escalation toward war — it is a prudent response to the warmongers in Tehran. Iran would be foolish to misunderstand American resolve,” he said.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky
Response: Paul hasn’t commented publicly since the attacks, but he had warned Trump against attacking Iran without congressional approval. In a post on X on June 20, he said of bombing Iran: “I sincerely hope we don’t go down that path — it’s a terrible idea, and we all know it.”
Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio
Response: “Iran’s stated goal is “Death to America,” and it has made its intent to develop nuclear weapons clear,” Husted posted on X. “Those weapons would pose an unacceptable threat to America and our allies. In the absence of meaningful diplomacy from Iran, the president has taken appropriate action to prevent the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism from producing these weapons.”
Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio
Response: “Preventing a nuclear Iran is in America’s national interest. President Trump gave, and is still giving, Iran an opportunity to make a deal. We don’t seek conflict. Endless wars enrich elites and harm our working class. I’m praying for peace and thankful we have President Trump.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Party lines cross on Trump Iran’s bombing, with Ohio Democrat praising, GOP criticizing
Reporting by Carl Weiser, Rob Byers, Anthony Shoemaker and Hailey Roden, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
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