Feb. 21, 2026, 5:25 PM EST

As President Donald Trump weighs a second major military assault on Iran in less than a year, congressional Democrats are warning a president known for pushing the boundaries of his executive power against unilaterally waging war on the Middle Eastern country.

Rep. Debbie Wassermann Schultz, D-Fla., said Saturday that Trump “must consult with Congress” and make a clear case for why Iran poses an imminent threat to the United States that would warrant U.S. military action. She pointed to the fact that former President George W. Bush sought congressional authorization before he ordered the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003.

“We have not seen anything about an imminent threat that would necessitate a significant strike like this,” Wasserman Schultz said on MS NOW’s “Alex Witt Reports.”

“So to think that this would be a walk in the park, the president is really not thinking this through carefully, and needs to consult with Congress,” she said.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement on Friday that the Trump administration has not clarified its strategy or objectives — or solicited congressional approval — as it weighs launching a military campaign against Iran.

“Congress has the sole power to declare war,” Schumer said. “We must enforce the War Powers Act and compel this administration to consult with Congress and explain to the American people the objectives and exactly why he is risking more American lives.”

Trump acknowledged on Friday that he is considering limited military strikes to push Tehran into agreeing to end its nuclear enrichment.

“I guess I can say I am considering that,” Trump told reporters amid a massive buildup of U.S. military forces in the Middle East, including two aircraft carriers and dozens of fighter jets, poised within striking distance of Iran.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told MS NOW’s “Morning Joe” on Friday that there is “no military solution for Iran’s nuclear program.” Trump on Thursday warned “bad things will happen” if Iran does not agree to a nuclear deal.

“The only solution is diplomacy,” Araghchi said. “This is why the U.S. is back at the table of negotiation and is seeking a deal. And we are prepared for that.”

Although he is unlikely to face much resistance from congressional Republicans, Democrats have cautioned against striking Iran. Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, warned of wider implications.

“A preemptive attack against Iran at this time would be a strategic misstep, and I am concerned that such recklessness could spark an uncontrolled conflict,” Reed said in a statement.

The administration has “failed to engage with Congress during this latest military build-up,” he added. “It is easy to start a war; finishing one is much harder.”

Clarissa-Jan Lim is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW. She was previously a senior reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News.

Feb. 21, 2026, 2:34 PM EST

President Donald Trump said Saturday he is raising global tariffs to 15% from the 10% import tax he imposed the day before in response to the Supreme Court’s ruling striking down his sweeping tariffs.

“Based on a thorough, detailed, and complete review of the ridiculous, poorly written, and extraordinarily anti-American decision on Tariffs issued yesterday, after MANY months of contemplation, by the United States Supreme Court, please let this statement serve to represent that I, as President of the United States of America, will be, effective immediately, raising the 10% Worldwide Tariff on Countries, many of which have been ‘ripping’ the U.S. off for decades, without retribution (until I came along!), to the fully allowed, and legally tested, 15% level,” he wrote on Truth Social.

Trump had initially set the global tariffs at 10% in an executive order on Friday evening. Those tariffs, enacted under section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, are in effect for 150 days unless Congress approves its extension.

On Saturday, he upped that figure to 15%. The sudden increase was met with immediate criticism from both sides of the aisle.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called it a “dumb” move. “He’s just making it up as he goes and Americans pay the price,” Schumer said on X.

“Trump’s commitment to pickpocketing the American people is relentless,” House Ways and Means Committee Democrats wrote on X. “A little over 24 hours after his tariffs were ruled illegal, he’s doing anything he can to make sure he can still jack up your costs.”

Scott Lincicome, vice president of general economics at the right-leaning CATO Institute, wrote“Clearly, this is all a very legitimate and rigorous ‘balance of payments’ remedy under the statute here. Yet another reason why congress needs to reform the law.”

Trump has been seething over the Supreme Court’s decision to invalidate the tariffs he imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Three conservative justices — Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett and Chief Justice John Roberts — sided with their liberal colleagues in the ruling, which The Wall Street Journal’s conservative editorial board called “a monumental vindication of the Constitution’s separation of powers.”

At a news conference on Friday, Trump said he was “ashamed of certain members of the court” and accused the justices of being “unpatriotic and disloyal to our Constitution.” He claimed without providing evidence that the court was “swayed by foreign interests and a political movement that is far smaller than people would ever think.”

He singled out Gorsuch and Barrett, two of his appointees to the high court, in a post on Truth Social later that day, saying that they “vote against the Republicans, and never against themselves, almost every single time, no matter how good a case we have.”

He then continued his streak into Saturday morning, lavishing praise on the conservative justices who disagreed with the majority decision.

“My new hero is United States Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and, of course, Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito,” Trump wrote. “There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that they want to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

The additional 5% increase on the tariffs he hastily imposed on Saturday could further shake global markets, which have been rattled by the president’s unpredictable tariff threats.

The Supreme Court ruling raised more uncertainty for consumerswho were left wondering whether they might be reimbursed for all the extra money they paid for goods and products over the past year.

While the court didn’t explicitly address reimbursement, Kavanaugh did in his dissent, saying, “Refunds of billions of dollars would have significant consequences for the U.S. Treasury. The Court says nothing today about whether, and if so how, the Government should go about returning the billions of dollars that it has collected from importers.”

Clarissa-Jan Lim is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW. She was previously a senior reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News.

Feb. 21, 2026, 11:14 AM EST

Almost immediately after federal judges in the Eastern District of Virginia on Friday appointed a veteran litigator as interim U.S. attorney, a position previously held by Lindsey HalliganDeputy Attorney General Todd Blanche shut it down.

James Hundley, a defense attorney with more than 35 years of experience, was unanimously appointed to serve as the top federal prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia on Friday afternoon.

But shortly after Hundley’s appointment, Blanche sounded off on social media.

“Here we go again. EDVA judges do not pick our US Attorney. POTUS does,” Blanche wrote in a post on X.“James Hundley, you’re fired!”

The top prosecutor position in the powerful Virginia office has been vacant since Halligan — an insurance lawyer personally chosen by President Donald Trump to pursue criminal charges against his perceived political rivals in the role — stepped down last month, after she was chewed out by two federal judges over her unlawful appointment.

Federal judges can appoint a U.S. attorney if a nominee has not been confirmed within 120 days. Justice Department officials have maintained, however, that it should be up to Trump to make those appointments.

Hundley is not the first casualty of the administration’s assertion of authority over the appointment of interim federal prosecutors. Last week, the White House fired Donald Kinsella hours after he was sworn in as U.S. attorney in the Northern District of New York.

“Judges don’t pick U.S. Attorneys, @POTUS does. See Article II of our Constitution. You are fired, Donald Kinsella,” Blanche wrote on X at the time.

In July, Attorney General Pam Bondi fired Desiree Leigh Grace as U.S. attorney for New Jersey the same day she was appointed by federal judges. Grace was tapped to replace Alina Habba, who, like Halligan, is a personal ally of Trump.

Clarissa-Jan Lim is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW. She was previously a senior reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News.