Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to reporters in the departure lounge before returning to Washington after meeting with Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders at Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport in Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis, February 25, 2026.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday reiterated President Donald Trump’s comments that a more aggressive offensive in the war with Iran remains.
“I’m not going to give away the details of our tactical efforts, but the heaviest blow from the U.S. military is yet to come. The next step will be even more severe punishment against Iran,” Rubio said before speaking with lawmakers at the Capitol, the first of a series of meetings between government officials and members of Congress this week.
The White House confirmed Monday that in addition to Monday’s meeting with Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Kaine will hold a full-congressional briefing on Tuesday.
“There was definitely an imminent threat” from Iran, Rubio told reporters. He gave no specific timetable for the conflict, saying the United States would “do this for as long as it takes to achieve” its objectives.
“Once this operation is complete, the world will be a safer place,” Rubio said.
ET Congress has been away from Washington since before the attack Saturday night. The Senate is expected to return later Monday and the House will reconvene Tuesday.
White House press secretary Dylan Johnson said Monday that relevant congressional staffers had also been briefed.
“Yesterday, the Department of the Army briefed the bipartisan staff of several national security committees in both houses of Congress for more than 90 minutes on military operations in Iran,” Johnson said in an email.
Immediately after the attack that killed Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei, bipartisan lawmakers called for a briefing on military action. Democrats in particular questioned the legality of the strike, which was conducted without Congressional authorization.
Democrats in both chambers vowed this week to force a vote on the War Powers Resolution, which could limit President Donald Trump’s ability to carry out further attacks against Iran.
“Their answer was completely and completely inadequate,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, who attended Monday’s press conference with Rubio.
“In fact, at least for me, that press conference raised more questions than it answered,” Schumer told reporters at the Capitol.
Mr. Rubio was scheduled to meet with the Gang of Eight, a group that includes leaders of both parties, as well as the chairs and executives of the Senate and House intelligence committees. The Gang of Eight was briefed last week ahead of the attack.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) told reporters the group has been expanded to include top appropriators and other leaders of relevant committees. He defended the Trump administration’s military actions, saying the mission was defensive in nature and not aimed at regime change.
“Israel was here determined to act in its own defense, with or without American support. Why? Because Israel faced what it saw as an existential threat,” he said after the briefing.
“The objective was to eliminate these missiles, short- and intermediate-range missiles and their manufacturing capabilities,” Johnson said, adding that the second objective was to eliminate Iran’s naval capabilities. “The Ayatollah is no more. It was not the mission of the United States to intervene and overthrow the regime, but it happened. In my assessment, it is a great development for freedom-loving people around the world.”
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, questioned whether Iran truly poses an imminent threat to the United States.
“Israel is a great ally of the United States. I steadfastly support Israel. But at the end of the day, when you’re talking about putting American soldiers at risk, when there are American casualties and more casualties expected, I believe there needs to be evidence of an imminent threat to American interests,” Warner said. “I don’t think that standard has been met yet.”
Democrats have expressed skepticism about the Trump administration’s goals since news of the attack broke.
Appearing on CNN’s “News Central” Monday morning, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D.N.Y.) was asked what the biggest question was during the press conference.
“The administration has not shown any justification for such a pre-emptive strike, so we will continue to look for information that we have the obligation to suggest to the American people that we have information that indicates that Iran is preparing to attack the United States,” Jeffries said. “Nothing has been shown to justify what happened so far, and the administration has an onus to prove that.”
Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), the top Democrat on the House Select Committee on Intelligence, said in a statement Saturday that based on information he received from the administration, “this is a war of choice with no strategic end goal.”
“As I said during the Group of Eight briefing to Secretary Rubio, military action in the region rarely ends well for the United States, and a conflict with Iran could easily spiral and escalate in ways we don’t expect. It doesn’t look like Donald Trump is learning the lessons of history,” Himes said.
