Act Now on Unauthorized War, Threat of War Crimes, Strategic Incoherence

Demand for Congressional Action: Unauthorized War, Threatened War Crimes, and Strategic Incoherence   I am writing as a constituent to demand that Congress exercise its constitutional war powers authority and act immediately regarding the Iran war.   1.         THREATENED WAR CRIMES. On April 1, President Trump threatened to strike Iranian power plants, oil wells, Kharg Island, and desalination plants. Stephen J. Rapp, former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues, stated this would make the United States a “rogue state” under international law. The President is threatening potential war crimes on national television, and Congress must not stand by silently. 2.         NO CONGRESSIONAL AUTHORIZATION. This war — now 32 days old, with 13 Americans killed and a $200 billion Pentagon funding request pending — was never authorized by Congress. The Constitution is clear that the power to authorize war belongs to Congress, and Congress must reclaim that authority now. 3.         STRATEGIC INCOHERENCE. The White House recently issued a post titled “President Trump’s Clear and Unchanging Objectives,” but the administration’s goals have shifted repeatedly: unconditional surrender, then regime change, later denied; nuclear disarmament; and most recently, opening the Strait of Hormuz, later described as not a “core objective.” Members of both parties have raised these contradictions in classified briefings, yet Congress has failed to force clarity. There is still no credible endgame. 4.         IGNORANCE OR INDIFFERENCE TO KNOWN RISKS. President Trump publicly claimed on March 17 that Iran’s retaliation against Gulf neighbors was “completely unexpected.” Yet reporting and later testimony from his own intelligence officials indicated the White House had already been warned that Iran could strike U.S. allies in the region and threaten shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. This raises serious questions about the administration’s honesty, readiness, and willingness to tell Congress and the public the truth about the risks it knew were coming. 5.         ECONOMIC HARM. The closure threat in the Strait of Hormuz has driven gas prices sharply higher and rattled global markets. Congress is now being asked for $200 billion for a war with no defined timeline. The administration has also signaled that it is willing to shift federal priorities away from healthcare and social programs in order to fund military action. Americans are already struggling under rising costs and declining retirement security, and Congress should not compound that harm by enabling further escalation without debate or authorization. I ask you to demand a formal war authorization vote, require sworn public testimony from the Secretaries of Defense and State, and publicly oppose any strikes on civilian infrastructure. History will judge whether Congress acted as a co-equal branch or stood aside while one man escalated a war of uncertain purpose at enormous cost to American lives, treasure, and moral standing.