By Los Angeles County Politics (LACP)
Los Angeles-area leaders came out swinging Saturday after President Donald Trump launched joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran — killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and setting off retaliatory attacks across the Middle East. The political reaction was swift and, among elected officials, nearly unanimous in opposition. On the streets of Westwood, it was something else entirely.
On Capitol Hill, U.S. Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Culver City, View Park-Windsor Hills, parts of South LA), a House Foreign Affairs Committee member, was blunt: “The self-proclaimed ‘Peace President’ just dragged the United States back into war in the Middle East — without authorization from Congress and approval from the American people.” She warned the strikes endangered “40,000 Americans and countless civilians across the region.”
Rep. Nanette Barragán of San Pedro called it “a sad and dangerous day” as “the president starts another potential war in the Middle East.” U.S. Rep. Norma Torres (D-Pomona, La Verne, San Dimas) took a more measured tone, closely monitoring the situation while signaling support for a War Powers vote.
Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) flagged a glaring contradiction: just eight months ago, Trump claimed Iran’s nuclear program had been “obliterated.” “Yet here we are all over again,” Schiff said, “with an explicit stated goal of regime change.” He joined Senators Kaine, Paul, and Schumer in introducing a War Powers Resolution and called Congress back to session immediately.
U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif) called the strikes unconstitutional and demanded Republican colleagues “join us in holding this administration accountable and restoring Congress’s role in foreign policy.”
In Sacramento, Gov. Gavin Newsom condemned the regime while eviscerating Trump: “The corrupt and repressive Iranian regime must never have nuclear weapons. The leadership of Iran must go. But that does not justify engaging in an illegal, dangerous war.” He added: “President Trump is putting Americans at risk abroad because he is unpopular at home.”
Los Angeles City Mayor Karen Bass focused on public safety rather than the war’s legality — fitting for a city that is home to the largest Persian population outside Iran and the second-largest Jewish population outside Israel. Bass said LAPD had stepped up patrols near places of worship and urged residents to “voice their views in a peaceful way.”
On the streets, Angelenos were deeply divided. About 200 anti-war protesters gathered at City Hall Saturday, calling the strikes a violation of the Constitution and the War Powers Act.
But in Westwood, the scene was the opposite. Thousands flooded the streets around the Federal Building on Wilshire Boulevard Sunday, forcing LAPD to shut down Wilshire and Veteran Avenue. They weren’t protesting — they were celebrating. Chants of “free Iran” and “freedom for Iran” filled Tehrangeles as participants waved Iranian, American, and Israeli flags and held signs thanking Trump and Israel for killing Khamenei. “For the first time in 47 years, the people of Iran have risen against darkness,” said demonstrator Chantel Behroozan. “Their only hope is President Trump and Israel.”
Congress was set to vote this week on a War Powers Resolution — largely symbolic, as Trump would almost certainly veto it. “Americans do not want another forever war,” Schiff said. The elected officials agreed. Westwood told a different story.
