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

Following tonight’s address by President Donald Trump, I write with profound alarm and urgency. What we are witnessing is not simply a set of policy disagreements. It is the systematic erosion of constitutional guardrails, the normalization of cruelty as governance, the distortion of truth in service of power, and the steady dismantling of the alliances, institutions, and democratic norms that generations of Americans built and defended. Congress must reassert its constitutional authority. Immediately. The framers did not vest war-making power, spending power, or unchecked executive discretion in a single individual. They vested those powers in Congress to prevent exactly this moment — where unilateralism, grievance politics, and performative strength threaten to override law, evidence, and democratic accountability. At home, we are expanding civil detention, undermining due process, targeting refugees, and criminalizing migration in ways that corrode the moral and constitutional foundations of this country. Agencies such as the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have been empowered to scale detention infrastructure while oversight weakens. Mass civil detention without transparency is not a hallmark of a confident democracy. It is a warning sign. Abandoning refugee protection betrays the commitments embedded in the Refugee Act of 1980 and in our international obligations. Welcoming and protecting those fleeing persecution is not weakness — it is fidelity to law and to the principles we claim to represent. Abroad, the consequences are even more dangerous. We must not be dragged into another catastrophic conflict in the Middle East. No strike, no escalation, no war with Iran without explicit congressional authorization. The Constitution is clear: the power to declare war belongs to Congress. Preventive or retaliatory military action absent authorization would be unlawful and reckless. We must confront the deepening humanitarian crisis in Cuba with policies that alleviate civilian suffering rather than exacerbate it. Sanctions and enforcement regimes must be evaluated based on humanitarian impact, not political theater. We must strengthen support for Ukraine as it defends itself against aggression by Russia. Negotiations to end that war must be conducted from a position that protects Ukrainian sovereignty and includes binding security guarantees — not from a position of fatigue or concession that rewards territorial conquest. We must also confront the devastation in Gaza and the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict with honesty and adherence to international law. Civilian destruction on a massive scale cannot be excused or ignored. The United States must use its leverage to push for an immediate and durable ceasefire, accountability for violations of international humanitarian law, and a credible pathway to Palestinian statehood and self-determination alongside secure rights for Israelis and Palestinians alike. Peace requires equality under the law — not permanent subjugation. Beyond specific crises lies a larger danger: the steady collapse of American credibility. Allies are recalibrating. Democracies are hedging. Autocrats are emboldened. When the United States undermines environmental protections, retreats from climate responsibility, destabilizes trade relationships, threatens military escalation, and treats humanitarian norms as optional, the world responds accordingly. Nations begin to insulate themselves from our volatility. They look elsewhere for partnership. They doubt our commitments. This is how great powers decline — not through a single catastrophe, but through cumulative erosion of trust. Congress must: • Reassert its war powers and prohibit unauthorized military action. • Exercise the power of the purse to block funding for unlawful detention expansion and rights violations. • Defend refugee protections and due process guarantees. • Condition foreign assistance on compliance with international law. • Advance climate policy consistent with scientific consensus and intergenerational responsibility. • Conduct aggressive oversight of executive actions that exceed statutory authority. This moment demands courage. It demands institutional backbone. It demands that Congress function not as a spectator to executive overreach, but as a co-equal branch of government. We are setting precedents that will outlive any single administration. The damage to democratic norms, to alliances, to environmental stability, and to the rule of law will be measured not in election cycles but in generations. History will record whether Congress stood aside — or stood up. The American people deserve constitutional governance, not personality rule. They deserve truth, not spectacle. They deserve leadership rooted in law, accountability, and basic human dignity. Do your job.