Newsom has California on alert after Trump orders bomb strikes in Iran nuclear sites
Gov. Gavin Newsom said Saturday that California’s State Threat Assessment Center is “actively monitoring for any potential impacts in California” after President Donald Trump ordered strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
“While there are no specific or credible counter threats we are aware of at this time, we urge everyone to stay vigilant and report suspicious activity,” he tweeted.
Reaction to the U.S. action fell largely along party lines.
“The President’s decision to carry out a targeted strike on Iranian nuclear sites was the right move. It was necessary, and sent a clear message. No other country has the capability to take out this type of threat,” Republican north state Rep. Doug LaMalfa tweeted.
Trump “is showing the world the true meaning of peace through strength,” added Rep. Darrell Issa, R-San Marcos.
Rep. Young Kim, R-Irvine, saw the military action as “necessary to deter Tehran’s nuclear ambitions and save lives.”
California’s U.S. senators had not commented in the minutes after the East Room address. Earlier this week, Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said he backed Israel’s offensive against Iran, as well as “whatever intelligence support and defensive support we can provide Israel.”
But, he told CNN, he felt U.S. action required congressional approval.
Other Democrats Saturday said the same, and expressed outrage at Trump’s action.
“Trump’s strikes against Iran are not only unconstitutional, but an escalation that risks bringing the U.S. into another endless and deadly war.,” tweeted Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-San Diego., a House Foreign Affairs Committee member.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, said in a statement Trump “ignored the Constitution by unilaterally engaging our military without Congressional authorization. I join my colleagues in demanding answers from the Administration on this operation which endangers American lives and risks further escalation and dangerous destabilization of the region.”
Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, called on House Speaker Mike Johnson to convene the House for a debate on the action. “It is Congress’ Constitutional responsibility to debate and approve any use of military force,” Thompson said in a statement.
Johnson didn’t mention that in a statement issued before Thompson’s. The speaker enthusiastically backed the military action, saying, “The military operations in Iran should serve as a clear reminder to our adversaries and allies that President Trump means what he says.
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., has been urging a congressional vote to give Trump authority to engage in the conflict.
Saturday, after Trump acted without any such vote, Kaine tweeted, “So what made Trump recklessly decide to rush and bomb today? Horrible judgment. I will push for all Senators to vote on whether they are for this third idiotic Middle East war.”
Other congressional Democrats were also upset. “There was more time for democracy to work,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md.
“The risk of war has now dramatically increased,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.
As a House member from the Los Angeles area from 2001 until winning his Senate seat last year, Schiff served as Intelligence Committee chairman from 2019 to 2023.
Earlier this week, he said that he backed Israel’s actions against Iran, telling CNN he supported “whatever intelligence support and defensive support we can provide Israel.”
He also sought congressional approval for U.S. involvement in military action, saying that bombing a nuclear site “would certainly qualify as our engaging in hostilities -- that requires congressional approval.”
When he was in the House, Schiff voted to authorize the use of U.S. force in Iraq in 2002, a decision he later said he regretted. The vote split the party, with 80 House Democrats backing President George W. Bush.
This story was originally published June 21, 2025 at 7:31 PM with the headline "Newsom has California on alert after Trump orders bomb strikes in Iran nuclear sites."
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