Graham on Iran: You go, Trump

President Trump found himself a second fiddle in the U.S. Senate as he bangs war drums against Iran.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (RS.C.), the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, who used to predict that Trump would be a disaster, took to Twitter on Monday to join the commander-in-chief in bellicose threats aimed at the Islamic Republic. Shortly after getting a briefing from hawkish national security adviser John Bolton, one of the key architects of the Iraq War, Graham (photo) opined, “It is clear that over the last several weeks Iran has attacked pipelines and ships of other nations and created threat streams against American interests in Iraq.”

He went on to launch a more-pointed threat. “If the Iranian threats against American personnel and interests are activated we must deliver an overwhelming military response,” Graham tweeted. “Stand firm, Mr. President.”

Although presidents have the power to launch military strikes, lawmakers have questioned whether Trump has the legal authority to mount a sustained effort. While some Trump advisers have reportedly pointed to the 2001 authorization that Congress gave the White House to attack Afghanistan and Osama Bin Laden, that so-called Authorization for the Use of Military Force specifically mentions groups that plotted or helped carry out the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

Presidents Barack Obama and Trump have used it to go after groups that followed in Al Qaeda’s footsteps, including ISIS, but Iran was never remotely linked to 9/11.

Tensions between Trump and Iran have spiked in recent weeks, with Bolton announcing a Navy group and a bomber task force were being deployed to the region.