Donald Trump’s decision to order the assassination of Qasem Soleimani drew sharp criticism from Democrats and broad concern that the strike had brought the United States to the brink of war with Iran. But to those who worry that the famously impulsive, incompetent television personality currently serving as commander-in-chief might not have thought this whole thing through, Mitch McConnell has a message: Just trust us!

Speaking on the Senate floor Friday, McConnell suggested that concerns about the raid amounted to partisan hyperventilating. “Predictably enough in this political environment, the operation that led to Soleimani’s death may prove controversial or divisive,” he said. “I recommend all senators wait to review the facts and hear from the administration before passing much public judgment on this operation and its potential consequences.” In short, the Senate majority leader asked everyone to calm down and believe both the administration’s word regarding the facts on the ground, and its judgment in responding to the situation as it did.

This, one might say, is asking the public and lawmakers to ignore the White House’s track record, which has included scrambling to cover for the president after he goes out on a limb and does something immoral or illegal. It is also asking that observers ignore what they’ve learned of Trump, who rarely thinks anything through. Of course, it’s totally possible that a Soleimani-coordinated attack was “imminent,” as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday, and that the counterstrike saved American lives. Even if that’s the case, it’s difficult to imagine that Trump’s historically shambolic administration has mapped out, and planned for, every possible outcome in response to the attack.

In eliminating Soleimani, Trump broke with the precedent set by previous administrations in dealing with the Iranian regime, as Rep. Elissa Slotkin, a former Shia militia analyst in both the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations, noted Friday. “The two administrations I worked for both determined that the ultimate ends didn’t justify the means,” Slotkin tweeted. “The Trump Administration has made a different calculation.” In the aftermath, Iran is threatening retaliation, Iraq’s leadership is convening to map out how to respond, the U.S. is deploying thousands more troops to the middle east, and New York mayor Bill de Blasio is instructing the New York City Police Department to take extra precautions in case of an Iranian strike.

Trump’s call to take out Soleimani, which may have come from his golf course, also came without formal consultation of, or approval from, Congress—a fact that is already inspiring questions about the attack’s legality. While Republicans like Lindsey Graham said they were clued in, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, and other critics complained about being bypassed, which Trump justified by retweeting far-right nutjob Dinesh D’Souza likening Democratic leaders to the Iranians targeted in the airstrike. “The lack of consultation and transparency with Congress can lead to hasty and ill-considered decisions,” Schumer said in a Senate floor retort to McConnell on Friday. “When the security of the nation is at stake, decisions must not be made in a vacuum.”

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