Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), following a classified briefing for the Senate Armed Services Committee on the war in Iran on Tuesday morning, said he’s concerned that the U.S. is headed toward putting troops in Iran — echoing and elevating concerns he voiced following a classified briefing last week.

But other colleagues have, at this point, not affirmed Blumenthal’s view.

“If you look at the administration’s objectives, most especially regime change, there’s no way to accomplish it from 30,000 feet,” Blumenthal told Jewish Insider. “Every military expert seems to agree that it requires troops in Iran, and likely, as well, destruction of the nuclear material that Iran has right now will require some presence of personnel.”

He said that comments by President Donald Trump and administration officials about the future of the campaign and about loosening rules of engagement have further fed into his concerns.

“There is an air of recklessness that leads me to be very fearful — not to mention what I’ve heard in the classified briefings,” Blumenthal said.

Other colleagues on the Armed Services Committee aren’t backing up Blumenthal’s concerns at this point.

“I don’t know,” Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) said, when asked if he agrees with Blumenthal that ground troops are likely to be deployed.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) forcefully denied to JI the idea that the U.S. would put troops on the ground in Iran.

“That’s interesting,” Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) said, when asked about Blumenthal’s comments.

Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA), who is not on the Armed Services Committee, said that Blumenthal “is my friend” but he “needs to back off the crank. That’s not going to happen.”

A ground operation would likely be a red-line for at least some lawmakers — on both sides of the aisle — currently supporting the war effort.

Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), the most vocal Democratic supporter of the war effort, told JI he would not support a ground operation, a position he said he believes most Americans agree with.

“I’m not supporting a boots on the ground thing — the vast, vast, vast [majority of] Americans are there — but I support what’s happened” so far, Fetterman said. “I’ll be the first guy to say, ‘Look, I’m not aware of any single person that would support boots on the ground.’ I just watched [Defense Secretary Pete] Hegseth’s interview where he says they’re never going to make it about nation-building or anything.”

The Pennsylvania senator also said he plans to support any request from the administration for supplemental funding relating to the ongoing operation, adding that he took umbrage with the notion of lawmakers on either side of the aisle voting down aid for U.S. forces in an ongoing combat mission.

“If it comes up, I will vote for it,” Fetterman told JI of a supplemental package. “And I would dare anyone to vote against providing our military what’s required at this point.”

A growing number of Democrats are coming out against such supplemental funding.

“They’re saying they have more than ample resources and munitions right now. I have no idea why they would need a supplemental, so I’m certainly not writing a blank check, and they’ve given us no specificity as to why a supplemental is required,” Blumenthal told JI. 

“What’s more, Trump is saying he’s not going to sign any legislation anyway until there’s the SAVE AMERICA Act, which is a preposterous position, but why should we consider a supplemental when he’s going to veto it anyway?” he continued.

Also on Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sens. Jack Reed (D-RI) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) wrote to Trump calling on him to send Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Hegseth to immediately testify publicly on the war effort.

They need to “come and answer for their failures and explain to the American people what the hell is going on,” Schumer said at a press conference. “That’s what people are asking in drug stores and bowling alleys and office buildings: What is going on? No one can understand it from what the Trump administration and Trump himself are saying.”