1. United States
2. Texas
3. Letter

I urge you to vote Wednesday to halt the Trump administration's military operations against Iran, which legal scholars and bipartisan lawmakers have characterized as illegal under both US constitutional law and international armed conflict laws. Since Trump launched this conflict on February 28, hundreds have died including six US personnel. The administration has provided inconsistent justifications ranging from preemptive war to degrade Iran's capabilities to claims of protecting American interests after Israel committed to its own offensive. Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed the White House was compelled to strike because Israel was determined to act, asserting there was an imminent threat. Legal experts have dismantled these rationales. Wells Dixon, senior attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights, stated that Trump's justifications are military policy objectives rather than a legal basis to launch an armed attack. Brian Finucane, former State Department lawyer, explained that for lawful self-defense, force must be necessary with no alternative, which wasn't the case. The US could have restrained Israel from attacking in the first place. Professor Marko Milanovic called the administration's logic completely circular and crazy. Senator Mark Warner stated clearly that there was no imminent threat to the United States by the Iranians, only a threat to Israel. If we equate threats to Israel as equivalent to imminent threats to the United States, we enter uncharted territory. Senator Tim Kaine distinguished between defending Israel during attacks versus the US engaging in affirmative initiation of war, noting we shouldn't wage affirmative war on behalf of any nation. The administration has also violated constitutional procedures. The War Powers Act requires consulting Congress before committing troops to hostilities and withdrawing forces within 60 to 90 days without congressional authorization. Rubio only briefed the Gang of Eight after taking action, consigning Congress to spectator status rather than its Article 1 constitutional role. Even if this vote cannot override a veto, Senator Kaine noted that previous congressional votes have deterred US aggression, with Trump scrapping a second wave of strikes on Venezuela after one such vote. I urge you to vote to halt these illegal military operations and reassert Congress's constitutional authority over war.