- United States
- Calif.
- Letter
Congress needs to act on two things immediately: pass the war powers resolution to end this unauthorized war with Iran, and ban stock trading by every elected official and executive branch member. These are not separate issues. Trump threatened to bomb Iran "very hard tonight," then cancelled the strikes and posted a list of countries supposedly party to a deal — while markets surged 1.3% on the S&P and oil dropped 3.6%. If you're trading dozens of times a day in companies that move on your own statements, that's not investing. That's corruption.
The war itself is already killing people. Three Indian seafarers died when the US struck the MT Settebello in the Gulf of Oman. Hospitals in Lebanon are being hit. An 11-year-old in Bahrain was injured by drone debris. Congress has the authority to end this — Chuck Schumer is right that Republicans need to support the war powers resolution. Use it.
Stock trading by people in power who move markets with their words should have been banned years ago. Pair that ban with a real vote to end this war. Both are overdue.