Operation Epic Fury has entered its fifth day, and sharp partisan rifts are unfolding as Secretary Pete Hegseth praises battlefield gains while House Democrats publicly predict failure.
Shame on the Democrats, who have reflexively denounced our effort even as commanders report major success. Operation Epic Fury is underway and senior officials are describing rapid, decisive progress from U.S. and allied forces.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth briefed the nation this morning and did not mince words, saying “America is winning. Decisively, devastatingly, and without mercy,” during his opening remarks. He added that U.S.-Israeli-led strikes will give our air forces “complete control of Iranian skies” in the coming days, and officials claim Iran’s senior leadership, air force, and navy have been severely degraded.
The campaign has reportedly hit hard targets, including a string of naval losses that the Pentagon says totaled 17 ships. Those battlefield gains are being cited by administration spokespeople as proof that precision, overwhelming force can neutralize long-standing threats without lingering, open-ended deployments.
Still, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries dismissed the operation in stark terms and predicted it would end in “failure” for the United States.
“The American people want us to focus on making their life better and making their life more affordable; not getting involved in another endless war in the Middle East that is going to end in failure. This administration somehow found the resources, has found billions of dollars for bombs but can’t find any money to actually bring down the high cost of living here in the United States of America,” Jeffries said, according to Fox News (emphasis added).
That kind of reflexive opposition is not new from Democrats, and it matters. When Democrats run foreign policy we saw the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan that cost 13 American service members their lives and left billions of dollars in equipment behind, handing strategic advantage to hostile actors.
The fallout from that withdrawal is plain: the Taliban reclaimed control and intensified brutal repression against women and girls, stripping away education and basic freedoms. Those failures were avoidable and stemmed from an approach that prioritized political optics over strategic victory and deterrence.
Democrats have a long record of appeasement toward Iran, stretching back through multiple administrations, and that pattern is fueling skepticism about their motives today. Secretary Hegseth did not hold back in his criticism of Jeffries and others who seem eager to undercut an ongoing operation at its outset.
“Well, I’ve been through that movie before,” Hegseth said of Jeffries’ remarks, “with Democrats rooting against the country. Our generation saw that in our battlefields. I think it’s pretty unprecedented and unfortunate that it would occur four days into an operation where, as the Chairman laid out, America’s best are operating in an incredibly challenging environment where they’re having incredible success. But they’re meeting a determined adversary. [Jeffries] has been privy to briefs that we’ve provided, he knows how effective this has been, he’s being disingenuous, which we’re used to.”
Even as the military executes complex strikes, there have been security consequences at home, including a terror incident in Austin tied to the broader conflict. Meanwhile, critics on the Hill are also blocking domestic security measures; the partisan decision to shut down DHS funding has hamstrung some responses, and that political theater matters when Americans expect protection.
Republicans argue that showing strength and following through matters more than performative complaints, and Hegseth’s briefing was meant to reassure the public that the campaign is under control. The debate now is whether political leaders will support operational success or reflexively undermine it for short-term partisan gain.
