Washington, DC -- Representative Gregory W. Meeks, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, issued a statement on the strikes against Iran:

“The Trump administration’s strikes against Iran represent a reckless abuse of the president’s power, threatening to pull the United States into yet another open-ended Middle East war without clear justifications or a defined strategic end state. Congress was not consulted, nor was it given the opportunity to authorize the use of force. This is an unacceptable breach of its constitutional role. 

“The goals laid out by President Trump -- ending Iran’s destabilizing nuclear weapons program, dismantling its missile arsenal, crushing its proxy network, and regime change -- are not the objectives of a limited strike. They are the objectives of a prolonged war. Military force can degrade Iran’s capabilities, but without a defined end state and real diplomacy, these objectives invite escalation. We are already seeing retaliation against U.S. forces and our partners. When we place American service members in harm’s way, we owe them defined objectives and credible strategy. The United States does not have a good record of forcing regime change or diminishing Tehran’s malicious behavior long-term through military force.

“The administration owes Congress and the American people a direct accounting: what is the threat, what are the objectives, what is the exit strategy, and what will it cost? Instead, we are seeing evasion at a moment that demands transparency. Even the Bush administration provided far more transparency on its effort to go to war with Iraq, and that administration’s willingness to seek Congressional authorization now stands as a higher standard than this president has met.

“I call on Speaker Johnson to call Congress back to Washington to immediately vote on authorization of Trump’s war of choice. Republicans and Democrats alike owe that to the American people. The president has launched an unauthorized war, and Congress must now decide whether to sanction it.” 

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