The coordinated attack on Iran by the U.S. and Israel drew reactions Saturday from Maine’s congressional delegation, with U.S. Rep Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, blasting the action as an unconstitutional act of war by the Trump administration and U.S. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, saying he fears for a “prolonged and destructive conflict.”

The missile strikes on Iranian targets came as President Trump called on the Iranian public to “seize control of your destiny” and rise up against the Islamic leadership that has ruled the nation for decades. The attacks resulted in the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, throwing the future of the Islamic Republic into uncertainty and raised the risk of regional instability.

Pingree said in a statement that the Trump administration’s actions amount to “a flagrant violation of the Constitution and a dangerous escalation that puts American service members, civilians in the region, and global stability at grave risk.”

“Republicans will inevitably try to downplay this action as something short of war,” Pingree continued in her statement. “The President himself makes clear that is false. In his own words: ‘The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost, and we may have casualties. That often happens in war.’ When a president acknowledges casualties and calls it war, Congress cannot pretend otherwise.”

Pingree noted that Iran responded with retaliatory strikes across the region, including at a U.S. Navy base in Bahrain. “This is not a limited operation—this is a war, and it is spreading by the hour,” Pingree said.

In his statement, King, an independent, indicated that the legal and Constitutional authority “for this extraordinary action” is an open question.

“The Constitution explicitly places the power (and the responsibility) for taking our country into war in the peoples’ representatives in Congress for a reason — the commitment to war is much too important to rest in the hands of one person,” King said. “That principle is as valid today as it was at the founding of our country.”

Announcing the strikes early Saturday morning, President Trump vowed to devastate the country’s military, eliminate its nuclear program and and change the government regime.

“My administration has taken every possible step to minimize the risk to U.S. personnel in the region,” Trump said in his early morning announcement. “Even so, and I do not make this statement lightly, the Iranian regime seeks to kill. The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost and we may have causalities. That often happens in war.”

King said in his statement that while he agrees with the president’s statements “about Iran’s destructive behavior and the harm it has done in the region,” he’s still left with many questions.

“The first is why hasn’t he made the case to the American people (and to their representatives in Congress) for such a major commitment of American forces, which could include troops on the ground? He had that opportunity as recently as Tuesday night, but did not take it,” King said. “Secondly, why now? All reports were that negotiations with regard to Iran’s nuclear program were proceeding positively this week with the possibility of a long sought-after diplomatic solution, and there is no indication that new malign actions by the regime were imminent.”

U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, D-2nd District, posted on X that President Trump “must brief Congress and the American people to justify his decision and clarify the administration’s goals.”

“It’s regrettable that negotiations to halt Iran’s nuclear program have stalled,” Golden wrote. “Having made the decision to use his Article II powers to initiate these strikes, President Trump is now required by the War Powers Act to consult with Congress within 48 hours.”

Pingree disputed claims about the nuclear program, citing reports that “Trump’s central assertions about Iran’s nuclear program — that it had restarted, that Iran had enough material for a bomb within days, that it had missiles capable of reaching the United States — are either false or unproven.”

Pingree called on Congress to immediately reconvene to take up a vote on a War Powers Resolution.

King also questioned the end-game for the U.S. “now that the goal has moved from elimination of Iran’s nuclear capacity to regime change.”

“As we have learned, toppling a despotic regime is only a first step; the hard question is what comes next and what will it take to insure that the next regime is not worse than that which went before,” King said.

Golden, a Marine veteran, said his top concern “is for the safety and well-being of the men and women serving the United States in the region” and “I appreciate their service and pray for their safety.”

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, posted Saturday evening on X that “the Iranian regime’s pursuit of nuclear weapons, ballistic missile development, and support for terrorist proxies pose serious threats to America’s national security and that of our allies, as well as to stability in the Middle East.”

“Our highly skilled and brave service members are in my prayers as they perform this mission,” Collins wrote. “Sustained combat operations require full engagement with Congress. There are important questions that will be discussed in the Senate’s classified briefings with Administration officials next week.”