Welker: Is there any scenario where you would support putting U.S. boots on the ground in Iran? Murphy: Never. Never. That would be a mistake of colossal proportions.
Never support putting U.S. ground troops in Iran under any circumstance.
Occurrences
We are on the cusp of American boots on the ground. And as goalposts have continued to shift, I ask my Senate colleagues: will that still be your red line? Or will the President be allowed to put American Special Forces in harm’s way for a war that Congress has not authorized.
I will never support sending American ground troops into Iran.
Evidence
Responding to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s unhinged calls to intensify the war with Iran, Murphy laid out the reality on the ground: 'This administration has totally lost touch with reality. This war is spinning out of control. Prices are spiking for millions of Americans.'
In the fourth week of Donald Trump’s war with Iran, U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) forced a vote on Senator Murphy’s War Powers Resolution to withdraw U.S. Armed Forces from hostilities in and against Iran. Senate Republicans blocked the measure.
Murphy unequivocally condemned Trump’s choice to launch a war with Iran, which the American people do not want and has already cost American lives. Murphy argued Trump’s decision to take military action without congressional authorization is unconstitutional and dangerous.
I support withdrawing troops, but we must also rejoin a diplomatic process that the Trump administration has left to other powers, and we need a surge in humanitarian relief. That's the only way we can protect the Syrian people against a Turkish incursion or regime reprisals.
Our adversaries, from Iran to Russia to China, love this American military myopia. They cherish our chosen blindness to all the non-military ways that they lap us, over and over, all across the world stage.
It has been more than a month since President Trump brought the United States to the brink of war with Iran by ordering the killing of Iran's top general Qasem Soleimani.
Murphy slammed the administration's decision to engage in military action in Iran without congressional authorization, emphasizing the need for a formal debate on the use of military force.
Murphy sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office requesting a legal opinion on the Department of Homeland Security’s purchase of six Boeing 737 planes, which may include the $70 million dollar acquisition of a luxury plane for Secretary Kristi Noem’s travel.
Murphy questioned Secretary of State Marco Rubio at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, arguing that the Iran war is driving up prices and pressing for a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. He also asked whether sanctions relief would be tied only to reopening the strait, not offered in exchange for that step alone.
Murphy said he and Democratic colleagues successfully advanced a War Powers Resolution to end the Iran war and argued Congress must debate and authorize military force before the conflict continues. He said the president would not have authorization to continue these operations without congressional approval.
Murphy told Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine that there was no military mechanism to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and pressed them toward diplomacy and economic pressure instead of further military escalation. He warned that the administration's strategy in Iran was misguided and could fail for years.
Assessments
As a U.S. senator, Murphy does not control troop deployments directly, so the relevant test is whether he supported or opposed sending U.S. ground troops to Iran while in office. The evidence shows a consistent same-term record of opposition to escalation in Iran: he condemned military action without congressional authorization, pressed for diplomacy instead of further war, and materially advanced a War Powers Resolution to withdraw U.S. forces from hostilities involving Iran. Even though some of his legislative efforts were blocked, they demonstrate he did not support putting U.S. ground troops in Iran and instead took concrete steps against that outcome. There is no contrary evidence here that he backed such a deployment.
Senator Murphy consistently opposed putting U.S. ground troops in Iran, vocally criticized unauthorized military actions, led efforts such as a War Powers Resolution to withdraw U.S. Armed Forces, and called for congressional authorization before any military engagement. There is no evidence he supported or permitted the deployment of ground troops in Iran. His public stance, legislative actions, and repeated calls for withdrawal support a clear fulfillment of the promise.
Senator Murphy consistently opposed U.S. ground troop involvement in Iran, both rhetorically and through legislative action. He led or joined resolutions to limit U.S. military engagement, condemned executive military actions lacking Congressional authorization, and advocated for diplomatic rather than military solutions. There is no evidence he supported deploying U.S. ground troops to Iran under any circumstances, matching his campaign promise exactly.
The available evidence consistently demonstrates that Senator Murphy both publicly and legislatively opposed U.S. ground troop involvement in Iran. He led an effort to pass a War Powers Resolution to withdraw forces, criticized unauthorized military action, and unequivocally condemned escalation. There is no evidence that he supported putting U.S. ground troops in Iran under any circumstance. His actions align fully with his promise.