Adam Thompson is a digital content producer for CBS Baltimore.
Maryland lawmakers say Congress and other federal leaders were caught off guard by President Trump's order for the U.S. to bomb three nuclear sites in Iran.
Rep. Johnny Olszewski told WJZ the White House should have given Congress a voice, or at least a warning, before the strike, which has been named "Operation Midnight Hammer."
Pentagon officials said seven B-2 Spirit bombers were deployed from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri to Iran. Another group of B-2s flew west over the Pacific to act as decoys, officials said.
Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, called it the "largest B-2 operational strike in U.S. history" and said it inflicted "extremely severe damage and destruction" to the targets.
"Even the senior-most leaders of Congress weren't even notified until after the attack was completed and the planes were out of Iranian airspace," Olszewski said. "So what I know is that to date, there has been no briefing, no intelligence shared, neither with ranking file members of Congress nor leadership, whether that's the Foreign Affairs Committee, the Intelligence Committee, or the House and Senate leaders."
"This is deeply concerning that the president is taking action without sharing the rationale with both members of Congress, but also the American people."
Maryland Senator Angela Alsobrooks called the president's surprise attacks "unconstitutional" and said that these actions threaten war.
"Only Congress has the power to declare war," Alsobrooks said. "(Mr. Trump's) dramatic escalation has put American servicemembers and the American citizenry at risk."
Alsobrooks continued, "The path to ensuring Iran does not acquire a nuclear weapon -- an objective we all share -- is paved with diplomacy. The President has bragged for years about his dealmaking prowess. Now he must prove his mettle."
Maryland Rep. Kweisi Mfume said the president "failed to abide by the Constitution."
"By not consulting Congress before taking unilateral military action, Donald Trump has once again failed to abide by the Constitution," Mfume said. "He promised to bring peace to the Middle East. He is falling short on that promise."
Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen said the administration's attack on Iran puts American lives in danger, with the fear of potential retaliation.
"Trump said he would end wars; now he has dragged America into one," Van Hollen said. "His actions are a clear violation of our Constitution -- ignoring the requirement that only Congress has the authority to declare war. While we all agree that Iran must not have a nuclear weapon, Trump abandoned diplomatic efforts to achieve that goal and instead chose to unnecessarily endanger American lives, further threaten our armed forces in the region, and risk pulling America into another long conflict in the Middle East."
Van Hollen added,"The U.S. intelligence community has repeatedly assessed that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon. There was more time for diplomacy to work."
Maryland Democratic Rep. Steny Hoyer supported the strikes, calling them essential to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons, while criticizing Mr. Trump's first-term decision to toss out the previous deal that had been negotiated under former President Barack Obama.
"The U.S. strike was essential," Hoyer said. "Sadly, the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran became this dire because the Trump administration chose to back out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in 2018."
Maryland Republican Rep. Andy Harris also supported the president's bombing operation, claiming that destroying Iran's nuclear weapons will save lives.
"The U.S. took decisive action to destroy Iran's nuclear capability, protecting lives, our allies, and global stability," Harris said. "This is peace through strength."