1. United States
2. Ohio
3. Letter

On October 5, 2026, at a rally in Grand Island, Nebraska, the President defended rising costs from the ongoing Iran war and stated: "They can take out a city. Let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego. This is a very small price to pay." Roughly 13 million Americans live in Los Angeles and San Diego counties. San Diego alone is home to tens of thousands of active-duty Navy and Marine Corps personnel, vital military installations, and military families. These are American cities protected by the oath of office every elected official takes. The White House claimed these remarks were misunderstood, asserting the President meant Iran *would* have threatened these cities without his military campaign. Read the plain text. If that was the intention, the sentence was "we cannot let them take out Los Angeles." He explicitly said "let them." He explicitly called it a "small price to pay." One cannot defend the executive by claiming he meant the exact opposite of what he spoke on record. Conservative leaders have already rejected this rhetoric. Jim Desmond, a Navy veteran and Republican congressional candidate in San Diego, stated plainly: "I served to protect Americans, not write off American cities as an acceptable price of war." That is not a partisan stance—it is the bare minimum requirement for public service. To my representatives: silence on this statement is acquiescence. I expect an immediate, on-the-record institutional response. I demand that you take three immediate legislative actions: 1. Introduce and Vote on a Resolution of Censure: Introduce and support a formal Congressional Resolution of Censure regarding the President’s statements writing off American cities and servicemembers. Congress has a clear historical precedent for censuring executive overreach, dating back to 1834. 2. Demand an Immediate Pentagon Readiness Briefing: Require the Department of Defense to deliver a briefing to the Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees detailing the active missile defense posture safeguarding major West Coast population centers and primary military hubs. 3. Force a Recorded Floor Vote on War Powers: Exercise Article I authority by forcing a recorded vote on authorization for the ongoing conflict in Iran that the administration uses to rationalize these risks. No American city is expendable, and no American life is a "small price to pay." Reclaim Article I oversight, defend your constituents, and hold the executive branch accountable.