1. United States
2. Ohio
3. Letter

I am writing to express my profound concern regarding the increasingly erratic and transactional nature of current U.S. foreign policy. Bragging about "piracy" in the Strait of Hormuz isn't a strategy; it’s a total collapse of institutional competency that puts our national security at risk. Treating complex international relations as short-term deals rather than sustained strategic engagements is a fundamental failure of both diplomacy and governance. Treating statesmanship as a deal rather than a professional discipline is a massive liability for the following reasons: - Erosion of Strategic Leverage: When alliances are treated as disposable assets, it tells the world the U.S. can't be trusted. This unpredictability doesn't project strength—it makes us an unreliable partner and easier for adversaries to ignore. - Abandonment of the Rule of Law: Diplomacy must be rooted in established statutory frameworks and Article I oversight, not individual executive caprice. Using military force to seize cargo—as with the Touska on April 19—without a formal AUMF is a category error that bypasses your constitutional authority. - Documented Strategic Negligence: A transactional approach to global security creates high-risk liabilities that professional statesmanship is designed to prevent. By framing naval enforcement as "profitable piracy," the administration is undermining international maritime law and exposing Americans to the risk of retaliatory conflict and market instability. We cannot afford to replace vetted strategy with improvised rhetoric. I urge you to reassert your Article I authority, demand a full review of these naval seizures, and hold the executive branch to a standard of professional, fact-based statesmanship. I will be monitoring your actions on this issue to assess your commitment to the rule of law.