1. United States
2. Iowa
3. Letter

Why Is Our President Siding With Our Enemies? I am writing as a concerned constituent to ask you to investigate the President’s decision to scale back joint U.S.–South Korea military exercises while citing his personal rapport with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. On August 17, 2026, President Trump ordered the Pentagon to reduce the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises with South Korea — one of our closest treaty allies — explaining that South Korea had declined to join the war against Iran, and separately demanding South Korea pay $10 billion to cover exercise costs. This is not a fringe concern: senators from both parties have criticized the move, and the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee has publicly accused the President of appeasing North Korea’s dictator. Reducing military readiness with an ally because that ally declined to join an unrelated war sends a dangerous signal to every American ally that our defense commitments are negotiable based on the President’s personal grievances, not our national security interests. I am asking you to: Open a formal, bipartisan investigation into the decision-making behind this exercise reduction, including who was consulted and what military and intelligence assessments were considered. Push for public hearings where military and diplomatic officials can testify on the record about the risks this poses to our troops and to regional stability. Our alliances are not the President’s personal property to bargain away. I urge you to exercise your oversight responsibility on this without delay. Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter.