Pennsylvania political leaders react to US Iran attack

Named Operation Epic Fury, the US and Israel bombed targets within Iran Saturday, with Iran responding with strikes on US allies in the region.

Pennsylvania US Senators John Fetterman and Dave McCormick, and US Congressmen Scott Perry and Dan Meuser, are among the lawmakers who have stated their support for the United States’ actions in Iran. 

Named Operation Epic Fury, the US and Israel bombed targets with Iran Saturday, with Iran responding with strikes on US allies in the region. 

“President Trump has been willing to do what’s right and necessary to produce real peace in the region,” Fetterman, a Democrat, said via X about Operation Epic Fury. “God bless the United States, our great military, and Israel.” 

US Senator Dave McCormick, a Republican, said the United States was justified in striking Iran. 

“For decades, the Iranian regime has killed Americans, threatened Israel and our allies in the region with their ballistic missiles and nuclear ambitions, and butchered tens of thousands of its own people. They are the world’s number one sponsor of terror,” McCormick said in a Facebook post. “The president has given the ayatollahs a chance for a deal, and they have rejected a path to peace and prosperity. I am praying for our brave troops and our steadfast allies who stand with us during this challenging and noble mission.” 

In a statement on X, Perry, a Republican who represents York County in Washington, reiterated what President Donald Trump said when he announced the US action in Iran.

“To the People of Iran: The hour of your freedom has arrived. Your destiny is in your hands. Take Back Your Government and Return Persia,” Perry stated.

US Representative Lloyd Smucker, a Republican who also represents York County, said “President Trump took decisive action to ensure Iran cannot possess these weapons or missiles capable of delivering nuclear payloads that pose a threat to America and the world,” in a statement on X.

Republican US Representative Dan Meuser, who represents a number of Pennsylvania counties, including Lebanon County, said the US stands at a historic turning point in the Middle East with the actions in Iran.

“For nearly five decades, Iran has pursued a dangerous agenda of Shia Islamic revolution, anti-Western hostility, and nuclear armament, inflicting harm across the region and beyond,” Meuser stated on X. “Now, through resolute action by the United States and Israel, we are drawing a firm line, offering the Iranian people and the broader Middle East a genuine opportunity for freedom, stability, and peace.”

In a statement released Saturday, Republican Brian Fitzpatrick, Bucks County’s representative in Congress, criticized the Iranian government and highlighted “the importance of standing with the Iranian people in their pursuit of freedom.” But he didn’t say whether he supported the military strike on Iran, which Trump said he authorized in part to help overthrow Iran’s government.

Fitzpatrick himself has long supported a more aggressive stance toward Iran, calling the Obama-era nuclear deal “misguided” and advocating for more sanctions.

US Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Kentucky, and Ro Khanna, D-California, a Bucks County native, are advancing a war powers resolution aimed at forcing the Trump administration to seek congressional approval to continue attacking Iran.

A spokesperson for Fitzpatrick, a member of the House intelligence committee, said the congressman is still reviewing the resolution and “any possible amendments.”