Kansas City area's U.S. senators and representatives split along party lines over Iran strikes

This is a developing story and will be updated.

U.S. senators and representatives from Kansas and Missouri are, not surprisingly, splitting along party lines in their response to the military operation dubbed “Epic Fury” by President Donald Trump.

In statements and social media posts made before the news Saturday afternoon that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been killed by an Israeli strike, the elected officials ranged in their characterizations of the attacks from “decisive” to unnecessarily “putting American lives at risk.”

Republicans largely endorsed the attacks as a necessary next step in Trump's promise to keep Iran from developing its nuclear program. Democrats claimed the move violates the article of the Constitution that requires congressional approval to carry out military action.

Congressman Emanuel Cleaver II, one of two Democrats among Missouri's congressional delegation, recognized Iran as a “bad actor, repressive to their people and a threat to U.S. personnel and allies." He called on Congress to challenge the administration’s unilateral use of military force without congressional approval.

U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, who last year joined conservative Republicans warning against war with Iran, earlier this week told St. Louis Public Radio he supported Trump’s efforts to keep nuclear weapons out of Iran. Hawley has long been an ardent supporter of Israel.

U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, of Kansas, in a Saturday morning post on X did not mention the strikes in Iran, but instead said: "May God Bless and keep safe the Armed Forces of the United States Military. The greatest military in the world."

Republican U.S. Rep. Mark Alford, of Missouri's 4th District, in a video posted on X said the president acted “decisively,” and that while it wasn’t America who started the fight, “we will finish it with strength.”

Congressman Sam Graves, a Republican from Missouri's 6th District, said Trump took decisive action "to protect our service members, our homeland and our national security before that threat could grow.”

Congressman Derek Schmidt, a Republican from Kansas, posted Saturday morning one short line: “Pray for the men and women serving in the United States Armed forces.” In the early Saturday morning video in which he announced the military action, Trump said there might well be American casualties in service of the mission.

U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, a Democrat from Kansas, said in a statement she is committed to keeping Iran from developing a nuclear program. "That said, costly, endless wars without congressional authorization are not the answer. We cannot repeat the mistakes of our past, and I am extremely concerned about what this attack could drag us into. I am especially thinking of our servicemembers and hoping for their safety."