The next is the transcript of the interview with Sen. Chris Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut, that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on March 1, 2026.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Becoming a member of us now could be Connecticut Democratic Senator Chris Murphy, good morning.
SEN. CHRIS MURPHY: Good morning.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You’ve known as for Congress to return to Washington and to vote on whether or not to attempt to primarily halt this army motion. No Struggle Powers Decision has ever overcome a presidential veto. Why do you suppose it is advisable to take one?
SEN. MURPHY: Nicely, no person on this nation is asking for conflict with Iran. Identical to months in the past, nobody on this nation was asking for conflict with Venezuela. This President is deliberately tanking our economic system. He’s essentially the most corrupt president within the historical past of our nation, and Individuals need him to deal with the crises right here at dwelling. As a substitute, he’s busy getting us concerned in quagmires abroad that already have gotten lethal to American troopers. It is a catastrophe. It’s unlawful, and the President is obligated below the Structure to come back to Congress and ask for an authorization of army pressure. He wouldn’t get that authorization if he requested for it. Congress wouldn’t vote to provide him the permission to do it, however he’s obligated to come back to Congress.
MARGARET BRENNAN: The administration would argue Venezuela was a restricted army operation. They see- They’re not explaining to the general public but, past that Twitter video, precisely what the plan is right here, however the President has tweeted, in a manner, describing this as an open ended battle till peace is achieved. You’re utilizing the time period conflict. You do think about this to be a conflict?
SEN. MURPHY: Oh, after all, we’re engaged in common, ongoing army strikes which have, that has already killed American troopers with the aim of regime change. If that isn’t conflict, what’s? Now, the president has mentioned that the aim is regime change, and the aim is to eradicate Iran’s missile program and their nuclear program. He isn’t going to achieve both of these endeavors. His intelligence companies have already instructed him that the almost certainly end result is that hardline members of the IRGC substitute the present management. So we’re not going to get a democracy. We’re going to get a fair worse Iranian management. We already know which you could’t bomb their nuclear program out of existence. He instructed us final 12 months that he had obliterated this system, after which apparently, over the course of the final 12 months, that they had gotten again to inside every week. So we’re going to have Individuals dying, and the top result’s going to be exhausting line management continues in Iran and we don’t eliminate their nuclear program. That’s an ethical and strategic catastrophe for the nation.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Nicely, you’re summarizing the administration’s views in maybe a extra succinct manner than they’ve, as a result of we haven’t even heard a transparent public accounting of the state of their nuclear program. Rubio mentioned they weren’t enriching, Witkoff mentioned one thing else. However I wish to ask you about one thing in regard to the Senate Overseas Relations Committee the place you sit, the State Division has issued a worldwide warning alert to all Individuals. They’ve arrange a process pressure that they are saying they’re going to attempt to determine learn how to assist the Individuals who’re trapped within the Center East and all through the world. However the US embassy in Israel mentioned they’re closed and so they can’t assist evacuate. If you happen to’re an American overseas or a member of the family, what must you be doing proper now?
SEN. MURPHY: Nicely, I feel you may name your member of Congress or your senator. We’ll do no matter we will to assist. But it surely’s no secret that this administration has no plan for the chaos that’s unfolding proper now within the Center East. These scenes that you simply confirmed initially of this system are horrifying. Violence isn’t contained simply to the Center East. It’s spilling over into Pakistan and different elements of the world, and it’s no secret that our allies within the area, excluding the suitable wing authorities in Israel, had begged us to not take this motion, as a result of they knew that the spillover, which is now wanting like regional battle, was the seemingly end result. So once more, what are we getting out of this? We’re not getting regime change to a democracy. We’re not going to eradicate their nuclear program. We’re going to have regional conflict breaking out. It gained’t be the billionaire children of Donald Trump and his buddies that die. It’s going to be the youngsters of center class and poor households all throughout this nation who’re going to die for a conflict of selection, a conflict of self-importance, an unlawful conflict.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Nicely, we’re going to hope for extra briefings to Congress or engagement with the press to clarify a few of these issues. Once we are speaking in regards to the Individuals although all over the world proper now. There’s additionally from the FBI and homeland safety concern about cyber vulnerabilities and potential threats to infrastructure, they put out alerts about this. Given the present state of affairs, Republicans are calling on Democrats to think about stopping the place you’ve taken, which is to halt some funding to Homeland Safety. Do you’re feeling it is advisable to rethink this place?
SEN. MURPHY: So the Republicans are saying that as a result of they launched an unlawful, disastrous conflict in Iran, we should always give them permission to proceed utilizing ICE to homicide Americans, to permit them to get the funding to tear gasoline colleges? No, we have to rise up for the Americans that ICE is murdering, the youngsters that they’re terrorizing. They need to cease this unlawful conflict, and they need to cease ICE from terrorizing our communities. We should always demand that they do each issues.
MARGARET BRENNAN: The administration would say they’ve adjusted a few of the manner they’re finishing up insurance policies inside DHS.
SEN. MURPHY: They’ve, they haven’t. I imply, simply because a few of the world’s and the nation’s consideration has turned away from Minneapolis, that doesn’t imply that they aren’t nonetheless brutalizing Americans. We simply found final week that that they had left a Burmese immigrant for useless, 5 miles from his dwelling, blind and disabled, this brutality is constant within the nation. We are able to do two issues directly. We are able to demand that ICE cease murdering Americans, and we will demand that the administration not ship our children to die for a conflict that we don’t want.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So that you consider that with the present funding Homeland Safety has that they can shield the homeland in an enough vogue? That’s what I hear you saying.
SEN. MURPHY: Hear, I consider that the administration ought to make a dedication to legally prosecuting the legal guidelines of this nation. I don’t have any obligation to fund a Division of Homeland Safety that’s violating the regulation day-after-day, similar to I don’t have any obligation to assist this conflict that’s unlawful as effectively.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So three weeks and counting, it sounds just like the standoff isn’t ending?
SEN. MURPHY: Nicely, if they comply with begin adhering to the regulation on the Division of Homeland Safety, they’ll have the votes instantly. However hear, that is what the individuals need. The individuals need ICE to begin behaving legally, and so they don’t need wars abroad. So I feel this can be a fairly clear case of Democrats standing with the American individuals in relation to home crises and worldwide crises.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So again on Iran. If there had been a briefing, if there had been full disclosure of the state of negotiations or an evaluation of Iran’s nuclear program, would Democrats have been persuadable to assist army motion? I ask that as a result of the Biden administration initially had reached out to Iran to attempt to get to a negotiated deal, and so they weren’t capable of get one. Partially as a result of they weren’t prepared to carry sanctions off of the IRGC so, in different phrases, are we simply in a spot the place army battle or confrontation was inevitable, and it simply occurred to land on Donald Trump’s watch?
SEN. MURPHY: No. Donald Trump precipitated this disaster, proper? He inherited a nuclear settlement that was working, that had put Iran greater than a 12 months away from a nuclear weapon–
MARGARET BRENNAN: –The JCPOA.
SEN. MURPHY: The JCPOA. In opposition to the recommendation of his advisers, he tossed that settlement out, which introduced us to this second.
MARGARET BRENNAN: It might have expired by now.
SEN. MURPHY: And there- proper, however I feel Iran would have definitely been prepared to increase these provisions if we have been nonetheless within the settlement. However second, there isn’t a historical past, there isn’t a expertise that reveals an air marketing campaign alone will end in optimistic regime change. Actually, there’s not a single instance of it within the entirety of American historical past. An air marketing campaign with out not less than the specter of a floor invasion, which the administration is ruling out, by no means ends in a democratic rebirth in an authoritarian nation. So the plan they’ve laid out, sustained air strikes and not using a floor invasion, is destined to fail. All that can occur on the finish of this, almost certainly, hear, I’m rooting for democracy in Iran, however the almost certainly end result right here is that tough liners take over the federal government. They restart their missile program, they restart their nuclear program, and we’re excellent again at bombing them once more and placing American lives and regional lives in danger once more in a 12 months or two.
MARGARET BRENNAN: All proper. Senator Murphy, thanks. Thanks on your time this morning, and we’ll be proper again with much more Face the Nation. Stick with us.
