Lawmakers don't know enough about what happened Thursday night concerning a military strike that was abruptly called off, and that's the problem, Rep. Ted Deutch said Friday.

"We want a little clarity into what happened, why this happened, the president's decision to call this off," the Florida Democrat, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told CNN's "New Day." "But, more than that we want to understand if there's a strategy here. We want to understand what it is the administration is trying to accomplish when you have different messages coming from — you have one coming from John Bolton, one coming from Secretary (Mike) Pompeo, and then you have a different one coming from the president."

There is no question that Iran is dangerous and a large supporter of state-sponsored terrorism, Deutch added, and there is a real concern about its efforts to develop nuclear weapons, making it important that there is a "clear and coherent policy" about what the United States is trying to accomplish, but that isn't happening.

"There's still no confirmed secretary of Defense," said Deutch. "It's hard to assert leadership when there are such mixed messages, and last night I think was the perfect example of that."

He added that one military strike could lead to attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq or Afghanistan, and he is concerned about the changing positions that those in President Donald Trump's administration hold.

"When the Secretary of State's position is laid out of 12 things Iran has to do, and John Bolton's position is regime change, and the president's position went from (the drone strike) was a minor accident to actually authorizing the use of force and then pulling back, all of that suggests there's just no clear path forward," said Deutch.

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