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Former Democratic Party advisor Dan Turrentine said the “unhinged calls for impeachment” in the wake of President Donald Trump’s attack on Iran was “truly [Trump Derangement Syndrome]” on display on Sunday.
The White House launched “Operation: Midnight Hammer” on Saturday and struck three of Iran’s key nuclear facilities. Many Democrats were quick to call the strike “unconstitutional” and suggested that Trump could be impeached over his decision to attack Iran without congressional authority.
Turrentine, who worked under Hillary Clinton when she was a New York senator and former Colorado Gov. Jared Polis when he was in the House of Representatives, wrote on X that Democrats need to back away from talks of impeachment.
“It was too depressing to write this last night, after we got off air, so I went to bed. But, it needs to be said by more Democrats: this was not an impeachable offense, and Trump did not need congressional approval for one precision attack under the circumstances, just as Obama did not when striking Bin Laden,” Turrentine wrote.
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He added, “Why can’t our Party just say it’s great we achieved the objective and destroyed Iran’s nuclear sites, god bless the soldiers who carried this out and made it home safely, god bless our country, military, allies, and we look forward to a full intel briefing?”
He argued that Congress can instead “express concern” over what might come next and assert its authority by insisting any additional steps will require congressional approval. Beyond that, he suggested impeachment calls would be a betrayal of one of the party’s principles.
“But, for so many in my Party to knee jerk with unhinged calls for impeachment – and sadly omit in their statement support for Iran not having nuclear weapons, which has been a principle of our Party for 40 years -is truly TDS,” Turrentine wrote.
President Donald Trump launched a successful strike on three Iranian nuclear sites Saturday night. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
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He also criticized Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for only putting a statement out to the media while several members of his party were already speaking.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Democratic National Committee for comment.
In his statement, Schumer called on Senate Majority Leader John Thune to enforce the War Powers Act, writing “[n]o president should be allowed to unilaterally march this nation into something as consequential as war with erratic threats and no strategy.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., was one of the more high-profile Democratic voices who openly called for impeachment.
President Donald Trump gave an address to the nation on his Iranian nuclear strike in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Saturday, June 21, 2025. (Carlos Barria/Reuters/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“The President’s disastrous decision to bomb Iran without authorization is a grave violation of the Constitution and Congressional War Powers,” Ocasio-Cortez said on Saturday. “He has impulsively risked launching a war that may ensnare us for generations. It is absolutely and clearly grounds for impeachment.”
