Speaker Mike Johnson fled down the Capitol steps Thursday rather than say whether Congress should vote on Trump's plan to seize Iran's main oil hub.
Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, was caught by CNN's Manu Raju on the Capitol steps hours after Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that the U.S. "will be taking Kharg Island" — the Persian Gulf terminal that handles roughly 90% of Iran's crude exports — along with "other oil infrastructure points," to "assume total control of their Oil and Gas Markets."
"I think he's communicating directly with our adversaries over there," Johnson offered. "I would not — I would not put too much stock in the details of that right now, in the middle of this important —"
"But he put it on Truth Social," Raju cut in. "Should Congress have a vote before he does that?"
"Gotta take a photo here," Johnson said as he quickly walked away.
Trump's Truth Social post landed after a morning appearance on Fox & Friends, where he'd been somewhat less certain. "My preference has always been — take Kharg Island… my preference would be that," he told the program. "I don't know that America has the stomach for it." He also promised intensified strikes Thursday night: "There will be more bombing tonight. It will be bigger — bigger, more powerful."
By the time he hit Truth Social, the hedging was gone.
Experts have long warned the island would be anything but a quick grab. "It will be hard to take. It will be hard to hold," an analyst told the Associated Press in March, warning a seizure could devastate Iran's economy without forcing capitulation.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, was more blunt on the Senate floor. "This morning, Trump said he plans to take Kharg Island, which could even mean putting American boots on the ground," Schumer said, calling the broader Iran campaign a "fiasco."