1. United States
2. Texas
3. Letter

I am writing today to demand Congressional oversight of the President and his Secretary of Defense. In a rush to once again insult President Biden during a recent press conference, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth blamed Biden for a shortage of Tomahawk missiles, stating, “Joe Biden shipped them to Ukraine.” This was not a slip of the tongue. Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump, and other members of Trump’s cabinet are so emotionally attached to their habit of attacking President Biden that they never miss an opportunity to deflect blame for their own incompetence. This is rank, childish behavior. It also reflects a lack of emotional and intellectual maturity wholly incompatible with service at the highest levels of the U.S. government. In the process, Trump and Hegseth are making a mockery of the U.S. military. Anyone paying even cursory attention knows the Tomahawk has historically been a sea-launched weapon. While it is being evaluated for additional roles, that is beside the point. We have primarily sent Patriot systems to Ukraine for air defense. The Secretary of Defense should understand these distinctions and comport himself accordingly, rather than engaging in puerile blame-shifting and mockery. But Pete Hegseth learned from the best. Or at least from Donald Trump, the most prominent example of this behavior in modern American politics. These two are playing a dangerous game, and Americans are paying dearly for their actions, their inactions, and their frank incompetence. As if it were not enough that they initiated military action against Iran without Congressional approval, they are now seeking $200 billion to continue the conflict indefinitely. It is time for you to act like the co-equal branch of government you are and take appropriate steps to protect Americans and put a stop to this administration’s out-of-control conduct. I expect you to advance and/or participate in any legislative effort designed to investigate or restrain the President and his Secretary of Defense and their dangerous ambitions. Trump is signaling a potential exit from NATO. How long do you intend to allow this erratic, incompetent behavior to continue? Act now.