REP RO KHANNA: Congress must reclaim war powers from an out-of-control Trump over Iran
As a principled opponent of military adventurism since America’s 2003 invasion of Iraq, I was devastated this weekend when we learned that once again, American servicemembers will be coming home in bodybags. Trump announced, "There will likely be more before it ends. That’s the way it is."
No. That’s not the way it is. That must not be the way it is. As Trump now refuses to rule out sending ground troops to Iran, I believe we must do everything in our power to stop this horrific war of choice before more Americans are killed. That is why this week, I am forcing a vote in the House of Representatives on a bipartisan resolution with my Republican colleague, Congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky, to end this illegal and unconstitutional conflict. These families are in my thoughts and prayers. But we also owe our fallen soldiers’ families and every military family with sons and daughters still in harm’s way a debate and vote in Congress.
The framers of our Constitution knew that any president would have incentives to start unnecessary, costly, and destabilizing wars. As James Madison wrote, "War is in fact the true nurse of executive aggrandizement." That’s why they entrusted the authority over war and peace "fully and exclusively" to the people’s representatives in Congress—not the president.
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Trump once seemed to understand this. In his 2024 election night victory speech, Trump promised, "I’m not going to start a war. I’m going to stop wars." In 2016, he channeled Republicans’ resentments with the Iraq War, saying that conflict "started ISIS, it started Libya, it started Syria," and its architects "lied. They said there were weapons of mass destruction, there were none. And they knew there were none."
Ten years later, the administration is promoting a new set of lies, including the false claim that U.S.-Israeli airstrikes were actually preemptive, against imminent threats from Iran, even as a peaceful diplomatic solution appeared to be within reach.
Let’s be clear: Just 1 in 4 Americans support this war with Iran. This country does not want to see more dead Americans. Americans don’t want higher gas prices, which will spike at the pump because of this stupid conflict. They don’t want higher inflation. They don’t want us to waste tens of billions of dollars on this war, all while millions of Americans lose their healthcare. They don’t want to throw the Middle East into more chaos and unpredictable violence while well-connected Pentagon contractors enrich themselves. Americans want Washington to focus on jobs, childcare, infrastructure, schools and healthcare at home.
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Yet the president who warned in 2023 of those who "want to squander all of America's strength, blood and treasure, chasing monsters and phantoms overseas while keeping us distracted from the havoc they're creating here at home" is plunging this country into a reckless war with barely an explanation for why.
I believe no one individual should decide whether to put American sons’ and daughters’ lives on the line for a war of choice. Every member of Congress, collectively representing 340 million Americans, must participate in this solemn debate. And each of us must be held accountable for the consequences.
This isn’t a partisan issue. I am informed by Republican President Dwight Eisenhower, who argued that "every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed." I am forcing this vote this week on behalf of millions of mothers and fathers. If enough likeminded Democrats and Republicans join together against the permanent-war party and the military industrial complex, the House can pass this resolution and send a powerful and unmistakable directive to the Executive Branch: remove U.S. forces from this ill-conceived and unconstitutional war.
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After all, the longer this war drags on, the more dangerous it becomes. Iran is a complex society of 90 million people—more than three times larger than Iraq in area and more than triple its population when we invaded Iraq in 2003. Top U.S. military advisers warned that with limited stocks of air defense systems, American and Israeli forces will be forced to absorb incoming fire from Iran’s missile arsenal in the coming days and weeks. Our 40,000 American troops in the region remain at risk from Iran’s retaliatory attacks.
Instead, we must assemble a global coalition that is ironclad in our shared commitment that Iran must never be allowed to have a nuclear bomb. A smart approach should have targeted sanctions and other tools to prevent the Iranian government from obtaining nuclear weapons. We can and must deal with the regime’s horrific crimes, violations of human rights, and its slaughter of brave Iranian protesters. But bombs will not end Iran’s nuclear program, which Trump supposedly "obliterated" eight months ago. Nor will bombs bring regional stability or justice for the protesters. America, in John Quincy Adams’ words, should be "the well-wisher to the freedom and independence of all," but should not go abroad "in search of monsters to destroy."
This week’s vote could be one of the most consequential in our nation’s history. Congress can play a critical check on this unthinking march into deeper and more reckless war. I will be urging my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote yes on House Concurrent Resolution 38. And I respectfully ask Americans across the political spectrum to engage with their lawmakers to support this measure.
After decades of wars launched by presidents of both parties, it’s time for Congress to build a new bipartisan majority: Congress must reclaim these war authorities from an out-of-control Executive Branch and use this moment of crisis to unify our country around a shared priority: No war with Iran.