Chairman Aguilar: It is completely unacceptable that Congress has not been briefed on Iran attack
WASHINGTON, DC — Today, House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, Whip Katherine Clark, Vice Chair Ted Lieu and Democratic Caucus National Security Task Force Co-Chairs Jason Crow, Maggie Goodlander and Derek Tran held a press conference on the Trump Administration’s chaotic foreign policy putting American troops in harm’s way.
CHAIRMAN AGUILAR: Good afternoon. Members today were supposed to receive a classified briefing from the Trump Administration, but clearly the chaos and the confusion coming out of the White House made that impossible. It is completely unacceptable that Congress has not been briefed on this in a timely fashion. We need evidence, we need details and we need to know them now. There are a number of outstanding questions, including whether this attack achieved the Administration's stated goals. Launching an attack without Congressional authorization is wrong—launching a potentially unsuccessful attack without Congressional authorization would be an administration-defining failure. And this is a defining week for the Trump presidency. He has asked Republicans to put the unpopular One Big Ugly Bill on his desk by July 4th so that he can celebrate Independence Day by throwing 16 million people off of their health insurance to pay for billionaire tax breaks that explode the deficit by over $3 trillion. And now he's putting American troops in harm's way in the Middle East, after promising that he'd restore peace. The American people want a steady hand at the wheel and to fight back.
I'm proud to launch the House Democratic Caucus National Security Task Force, co-chaired by Representatives Jason Crow, Maggie Goodlander and Derek Tran. And we want to thank Co-chair Mikie Sherrill, who can't be with us here today. The members leading this task force will draw on their patriotism, expertise and commitment to service by providing the leadership that Donald Trump and the Rubberstamp Republicans lack the courage and moral clarity to deliver. Vice Chair Ted Lieu.
VICE CHAIR LIEU: Thank you, Chairman Aguilar. Please to be joined today by veterans Jason Crow, Maggie Goodlander and Derek Tran. Like Chairman Aguilar said, it is completely unacceptable that the Administration is unwilling to brief the House of Representatives on the strikes in Iran. It has been a longstanding bipartisan goal of both Democratic and Republican Administrations to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. The Iranian regime is a theocratic autocratic regime. If they had nuclear weapons, they could launch them at U.S. bases, U.S. military interests and at Israel. And we have to make sure this regime never acquires a nuclear weapon. At the same time, I believe the Constitution means what it says: Only Congress has the power to declare war. I probably stated at the time that Obama needed Congressional authorization to strike Syria. I believe Trump needs Congressional authorization to strike Iran. My view of the Constitution does not change based on what party the President happens to belong to.
Now, there's some other news that happened today, including that consumer sentiment declined again, and what we know is that the economic policies of Donald Trump and the Republicans are harming Americans. The American people know it. Inflation has increased. Grocery prices have increased. People are having difficulty making ends meet, and now we have this huge, Big Ugly Bill that's going to cut health care for millions and millions of Americans, in service of tax breaks for billionaires. We asked the Republican Senate and House Republicans to vote no. And with that, it is my honor and pleasure to introduce Representative Jason Crow, who served our country in combat prior to joining Congress.
REP. CROW: Thank you, Chairman Aguilar, Vice Chairman Lieu and my fellow Co-chairs of the House Democratic National Security Task Force, Derek Tran and Maggie Goodlander. I'm Jason Crow from Colorado. And even though I'm a Member of Congress now, I view this issue, like many national security issues, more through my eyes as a former Army Ranger and paratrooper and combat veteran, than just as a Member of Congress. I deployed three times to Iraq and Afghanistan in my early and mid-20s. And I know the true costs of war. I know what happens when unaccountable elites in comfortable, air-conditioned offices in Washington pound their chests, saber-rattle and then send somebody else to go off and do the tough work. Because the people that I grew up with, working-class kids from around the country, from the middle of the country, from small towns that people in Washington don't pay attention to that have to go out and carry out that tough talk. So I take it pretty personally when an elite like Donald Trump makes a cavalier decision without thought, without engagement with Congress, to potentially pull us into another long-term, endless conflict in the Middle East. But don't get us wrong, there is no appetite in America for the United States to be pulled into another decades-long conflict in the Middle East. So, there's a lot of talk about Congress and why Congress should be involved. A lot of discussion about the Constitution, a lot of discussion about war powers, and I just want to talk about why that should matter to Americans. Of course, the Constitution matters. And of course, obeying the rule of law matters.
But let’s drill down into that for just one moment. We spent 20 years and $3 trillion and over 6,000 American troop lives fighting wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, that should have ended much, much sooner and been far less costly than they were. How did that happen? Well, it happened in large part because there was just one vote the entirety of those wars, one vote and one formal debate in Congress. And then out of sight, out of mind. Congress is an essential part of this. That is what the Framers of the Constitution envisioned. That the people closest to the American people have to go home every weekend and stand in high school auditoriums, in gyms and Rotary Clubs and Friday night fish frys across America, and be held accountable and say why we should spend taxpayer dollars to send our men and women to someplace around the world into conflict. Why we should do that. And to be accountable for it in real time. That's why the involvement of Congress matters. Because nobody will ever tell me that things would have been different in Iraq and Afghanistan had we actually had that debate, had we actually pushed that accountability. We know, we know it would have been. So, Congress needs to step up. I know House Democrats are ready to step up. We're already leading to reinsert ourselves into matters of war and peace. It's time for the Republicans to step up too and say enough is enough. We have an independent Constitutional obligation to support our military, to support our troops and to discharge our obligations under the Constitution, regardless of what Donald Trump says. We are not asking them to storm the beaches of Normandy or to give their lives for this country; we are asking them to step up and fulfill their constitutional obligations. And with that, it is my pleasure to introduce the intrepid Whip of the House Democrats, Katherine Clark of Massachusetts.
WHIP CLARK: Thank you so much Congressman Crow and thank you for your service to our country, both your military service and your service. And to all of you. And thank you to our Chairman and Vice Chairman for pulling this together. Our message today is clear: the Constitution is not a document of convenience. It is there to guarantee that there is accountability, because it is the people's voice of this country. It is American families who are feeling every day that it is hard to get ahead. Who need to be informed of when this country is going to have military strikes and go to war. And that is where representative government comes in. That is the design. That as members of Congress, we are here representing our districts and the voice of the American people. So when we have a President and an Administration and now a Republican Party in Congress that has decided the American people are not entitled to know anything. It is a trust us, we are doing what we're doing. You are just here to pay the taxes while we debate these things internally, without your representatives involved. That is an outrage and an insult to families at home. Who, at this time, where 60% of American families are feeling they can't provide the basics, while we are debating a GOP bill that wants to take away health care from 16 million Americans, that wants to take away food programs, and strip funding from veterans benefits. The audacity of them coming forward and saying, on top of all that, we feel that you are not entitled to the basic information around our national security and such profound decisions about whether to go to war or not. This is far beyond a briefing and what day it will be held. It is the fact that we have been demanding information on behalf of American families, of American veterans, of those who are in active duty and their families who deserve answers on what our country is committing as far as foreign action and why. Thank you.
CHAIRMAN AGUILAR: Thanks. Co-Chair Maggie Goodlander.
REP. GOODLANDER: Thank you so much. I'm really grateful to our leadership and to my colleagues who are part of this task force, which I'm really proud to be part of. I represent the “Live Free or Die” State of New Hampshire here in Congress, and we've got freedom-loving patriots right here on this podium who believe deeply in our mission and our role. And what I'd say is, I’m about to turn it over to Derek Tran, who, like my dad, joined the military at age 18. My dad, Ted, always said he got his education in the United States Navy—and so did I. I really did. I served 11 years as an intelligence officer in the Navy Reserve. I learned in the Navy and saw firsthand that the United States of America has brutal and determined enemies all across the world, including in Iran. I saw firsthand how our patriotic service members, when they take an oath to this document, I bring my Constitution with me everywhere I go in this job, because it's a useful document to have these days for questions big and small. When they take an oath to this, they mean it. I also learned in the Navy firsthand why our Framers were really smart to give Congress a central role in American national security and in matters of war and peace, because there are no more consequential decisions than can be made. What we see today is an Administration that is completely ignoring the role of Congress in matters of war and peace, and it's having real consequences. It's been said. We just came back. I was pounding the pavement all across New Hampshire. I heard from the families of service members who were asking basic questions, questions that this Administration should be answering to the American people, about why we went ahead and conducted a military strike without Congressional authorization? What the impact of that strike was, what damage it did to Iran's nuclear program and their nuclear industrial base, and what is the plan now? This is why Congress has got a role in questions of war and peace, and why this administration is going to have to answer to us. I'm really proud to be in this effort alongside all of you, and delighted to turn it over to my colleague, and Army veteran. I’ll allow it. Go Navy! Derek Tran.
REP. TRAN: Thank you so much, Rep. Goodlander. Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for coming and thank you especially to my colleagues with whom I am so proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder. I joined the Army Reserves when I was 18 years old. I walked into that recruitment office because I was committed to giving back to the country that has given me so much. My parents fled a communist dictatorship and came to the United States seeking the freedom and democracy that defined the core of our national values. I brought that background with me to Congress, and I'm so proud to lend my voice as a leader of the House Democratic Caucus on the National Security Task Force. Just this week, we learned in terrifying detail just how important our voices are at this critical moment. Iran and its proxies pose a serious threat to our nation, and American people are looking for measured, steady leadership to protect our national security. They're not seeing it from President Trump. They're not seeing it from Congressional Republicans, who refuse to hold this President accountable. I am proud to stand with my colleagues today to urge a stronger, more stable approach to our national security. We are committed to keeping our service members safe. We are committed to protecting U.S. global leadership and we don't want our country dragged into another reckless war. It is critical that we exhaust all diplomatic options to de-escalate this conflict, because we do not want more of our soldiers put in harm's way. The United States has been the sole global superpower for decades, not only because of our military might, but because of our values, our adherence to the Constitution and our respect to the rule of law. We're here today because we refuse to stand by, while the legacy, this legacy, is under threat. Thank you so much and I'm going to turn it back to our Chairman for questions.
Video of the full press conference and Q&A can be viewed here.
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