GOP lawmakers vent frustration over Trump administration’s lack of info on Iran war

By Annie Grayer, Sarah Ferris, Lauren Fox, Ted Barrett, CNN

(CNN) — A key group of House Republicans are growing increasingly wary of the US war with Iran after a briefing with Department of Defense officials on Wednesday left some unsatisfied with what they were told about the objectives and length of the war effort.

Briefers faced questions by Democrats and Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee about the Trump administration’s overall strategy, end game and whether the US would put military troops on the ground in Iran, but many left with concerns over what they said was a lack of clarity provided.

The reaction to the closed-door briefing is the latest example that cracks are emerging among congressional Republicans over the Iran war as lawmakers are growing increasingly skeptical about spending billions of dollars to prolong the conflict. Several Republicans have said they will refuse to support any more money for the war without a clear White House strategy.

House Armed Services Chairman Mike Rogers described “frustration on both sides of the aisle in the last few briefings” — including the one Wednesday — with the war now in its fourth week and a major funding request on the way. Rogers said members did not receive adequate information about plans for ground troops, the end goal or the expected price tag, among other questions.

“They’re moving troops into the CENTCOM and the combatant command, and we want to know more about what options they’re considering. And we aren’t given any details,” Rogers said. “This is one in a series where we feel like the administration needs to be more forthcoming when they send folks over here. That’s good that they finally started sending people over here, but they have to tell us meaningful things while they’re here.”

Rogers said lawmakers made their concerns clear to the Pentagon officials, who “took the message,” adding: “My hope is that the next briefing and those thereafter will be more fruitful.”

GOP Rep. Nancy Mace told CNN she stormed out of the briefing exasperated by the lack of clarity and would be a “no” on any requests for additional funding until she gets answers to her questions about just how long the US may be engaged in the conflict in Iran. She even argued that all lawmakers would be against approving more money for the war effort if they heard the briefing Armed Services Committee members received on Wednesday.

“I felt like the House Armed Services Committee was misled during that briefing. They didn’t have a lot of answers,” Mace said following the meeting. “Every day this drags on the less support on the Republican side.”

White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement to CNN, “President Trump’s administration has briefed Congress throughout Operation Epic Fury and before the military action began. To date, the Department of State, Department of War, and Intelligence Community have conducted 20 bipartisan briefings for Members of Congress, including two briefings for the House Armed Services Committee. The President’s team will continue to work closely with the Hill while completely demolishing the Iranian regime’s ballistic missile capabilities, navy, ability to arm proxies, and dreams of possessing a nuclear weapon.”

CNN has reached out to the Department of Defense.

While GOP Rep. Clay Higgins said he personally was happy with the briefing, he described it as the “most contentious” Armed Services Committee briefing he has seen.

“I believe members kind of went in there determined to not be satisfied with the administration,” Higgins said. “I didn’t find it any less professional or complete than previous briefings. This is a delicate thing, an ongoing military operation and some of the questions that my Democratic colleagues were asking … they were like designed to be unanswerable.”

GOP Rep. Ronny Jackson said some of his colleagues wanted the Pentagon officials to elaborate more than the briefers felt like they were able to.

“I guess some people wanted them to elaborate more than they felt like they were able to,” Jackson said.

House Speaker Mike Johnson defended the Trump administration in response to members’ growing frustrations.

“They’ve given member briefings at the classified level. Every member is privy to whatever information they need and I’m not sure how much more transparent they can be,” he said.

Lawmakers on the Senate Armed Services Committee were also briefed Wednesday, but Republicans in that chamber seemed less concerned about the information provided.

When asked by CNN if he was satisfied by the briefing from the administration, GOP Sen. Mike Rounds said that “any information we can get helps. Naturally, we always want more.”

“We’re trying to do our due diligence. Our oversight responsibilities are important, and as part of that, we continue to remind them that we expect to get good answers, and in some cases, they can do a very good job of that. In other cases, we sometimes ask for more,” he said.

GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan said he asked the Pentagon representatives how much progress they had made in satisfying the goals that Trump has defined as his objectives and said he walked away feeling good about the progress made.

“I have no doubt it was accurate,” Sullivan said.

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CNN’s Zack Cohen, Kylie Atwood, Haley Britzky, Samantha Waldenberg contributed to this report.