1. United States
2. N.Y.
3. Letter

I write with urgent alarm regarding the latest reporting that the Trump administration is seriously considering military strikes against Iran. These developments, if accurate, place the United States on a perilous path toward another catastrophic conflict — one with no clear legal basis, no endgame, and grave potential consequences for regional stability, civilian life, and global security. Recent reporting indicates that senior U.S. officials are evaluating options for punitive strikes and contingency plans against Iranian targets. While specifics remain fluid, the signals from the executive branch reflect a willingness to escalate militarily absent clear congressional authorization. This is dangerous, unconstitutional, and historically reckless. We have been here before. The U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan began with executive assertions of authority divorced from clear constitutional grounding. They resulted in decades of occupation, hundreds of thousands of deaths, billions in taxpayer cost, and destabilization across entire regions. Those outcomes were not inevitable; they were avoidable had Congress upheld its constitutional role. The framers of the Constitution intentionally vested the power to declare war in Congress — not in a single individual acting alone. This separation of powers exists to prevent precisely the sort of unilateral escalation now being considered. The executive branch does not have unilateral authority to initiate hostilities, and any action that approaches the threshold of “war” must be debated and authorized by the people’s representatives. The Trump administration’s impulse toward military escalation — absent diplomatic exhaustion, absent a coherent strategy, absent congressional authorization — is not leadership. It is brinkmanship that risks widening into war with catastrophic humanitarian, economic, and geopolitical consequences. This is not hypothetical. A strike on Iran could trigger: • Retaliatory attacks against U.S. forces and allies in the region. • A wider regional conflagration involving proxy actors and non-state militias. • Severe disruptions to global energy markets and international trade. • Civilian casualties and displacement on an enormous scale. • Long-term destabilization of the Middle East. Congress must act before the situation escalates, not after the first bombs fall. I demand that you and your colleagues: 1. Publicly reaffirm that no military action against Iran is authorized absent explicit congressional approval. 2. Pass legislation prohibiting offensive strikes or hostilities against Iran without congressional authorization. 3. Invoke and enforce the War Powers Resolution should hostilities be initiated or imminent. 4. Block funding for any unauthorized military operations or executive planning that could lead to war. 5. Hold urgent and public hearings requiring sworn testimony from Department of Defense and White House officials regarding legal justifications, strategy, and escalation risks. Anything less would constitute abdication of your constitutional duty. The American people do not want another war driven by executive impulse or geopolitical showmanship. We want leadership grounded in law, accountability, diplomacy, and a sober assessment of risk and consequence. There is nothing inevitable about war with Iran. There is everything avoidable about it — if Congress chooses to exercise its authority now, before the first strike is ordered. Do your job. Defend the Constitution. Protect peace.