A swing-district Republican called the war an "incredible operation," and President Trump drew backlash from political figures in both parties over a social media post.
As the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran pushed into its sixth week with the rescue of a downed American airman and fresh threats from President Trump, Democrats and Republicans on Sunday renewed their debate over the conflict.
Democrats have accused Mr. Trump of plunging America into a perilous, open-ended conflict with no plan to bring it to an end or to mitigate its economic costs, which have included surging gasoline prices. Polls have shown most of the public opposes the war.
Mr. Trump and other Republicans have defended the conflict, saying that the United States is standing up to a dangerous adversary. They argue that Iran's nuclear program posed a severe threat that the president had little choice but to confront.
Here's a look at how the political debate played out on the 37th day of the war.
A top Democrat said the president had no plan.
Democrats on Sunday celebrated the mission that rescued an Air Force officer whose fighter jet had been shot down in Iran. But they continued to press their case that the president had failed to outline clear objectives, a concrete exit strategy or a satisfactory explanation for rising fuel costs.
"Donald Trump has gotten us involved in this reckless war of choice without any plan," Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the top House Democrat, told ABC News.
"Billions of dollars are being spent every day to drop bombs in the Middle East," Mr. Jeffries added, "when Donald Trump, as a candidate, promised to never get us involved in this type of conflict."
A swing-district Republican called the war an 'incredible operation.'
While most members of the Republican Party support the war, according to opinion polls, the conflict's unpopularity with Americans overall could pose a challenge for Republicans running in swing districts in the midterms.
One of those Republicans, Representative Mike Lawler of New York, told NBC News in an interview on Sunday that Congress would "need to take necessary action" if the war lasted more than 90 days. But he strongly defended the president’s handling of the war.
"The idea that the administration and our armed forces are not meeting their objectives or that there wasn't a plan is absurd," Mr. Lawler said. "The fact is that they have conducted an incredible operation over these last five weeks."
An expletive-laden post by Trump drew a bipartisan backlash.
The president issued an threat to Iran on Sunday that prompted sharp criticism from leading Democrats and disapproving statements from a few Republicans.
"Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran," Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social. "Open the Fuckin' Strait, you crazy bastards, or you'll be living in Hell -- JUST WATCH. Praise be to Allah."
Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic minority leader, said in a statement on social media that the president was "ranting like an unhinged madman."
Former Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, onetime Trump ally and forceful critic of the war, wrote on social media that the president’s behavior was “insane.”
And Representative Don Bacon, a Nebraska Republican who has backed the war effort, said in a text message that Americans didn’t “want their president to be profane and vulgar,” adding, “Part of leadership is self-control.”