Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) warned President Donald Trump against escalating the war in Iran by sending in ground forces.
Mace, a member of the House Armed Services and Veterans Affairs committees, said Monday on CNN's "The Situation Room" she believes Army Secretary Dan Driscoll's resignation stemmed from friction with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, but defended the shakeup as a necessary push to modernize the Pentagon.
"It would be obtuse not to admit" that conflict is likely, Mace said, adding that pushback is inevitable amid major organizational change, including the firing of generals. She said readiness problems have long stemmed from bureaucratic slowness in procurement — including missiles, artillery and drones — and defended Hegseth for trying to "change the paradigm" and speed things up.
Asked whether Driscoll's departure threatens the independence of the Army secretary role, given that no Senate-confirmed Army leaders remain, Mace said she expects candidates to emerge, adding that rumors on Capitol Hill had Pentagon press secretary Sean Parnell pursuing the position, though she declined to weigh in on his qualifications.
"That'll be up to the Senate," she said, noting confirmation could be difficult with midterm elections 65 days away.
When asked about military readiness concerns, Mace said the U.S. cannot afford to deplete resources needed to counter China over Taiwan while also supporting Ukraine, calling the Indo-Pacific a persistent vulnerability. She said most Americans oppose a war with Iran or ground troops there, but also don't want mass American casualties.
"The majority of us don't want to see war with Iran," Mace said. "We don't want to see nukes in the Middle East. But by God, we also don't want 100,000 American troops dead in Tehran."
Asked about the six-month-long conflict with Iran, Mace said intermittent bombing doesn't mean the war has paused. "This is an ongoing conflict. This is an ongoing war," she said, arguing the White House is past the roughly 90-day window Congress has historically given presidents to formally declare or end a war under the War Powers Act.
"The grace period is over," Mace said. "That needs to happen sooner rather than later, so that we can adhere to the War Powers Act... And if the War Powers Act were to come up today, I would vote for it."
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