Congress declares war, not the President. Take your responsibility back!

I am writing to demand that Congress immediately reassert its constitutional authority and stop the reckless escalation of military conflict being carried out by President Donald Trump and his cabinet. The United States is being pulled toward a wider war without clear objectives, without serious diplomacy, and without proper Congressional authorization. At the very moment the administration claims to be confronting Iran, it has lifted sanctions on Russian oil shipments, delivering a financial windfall to Vladimir Putin—the very sanctions imposed by the Group of Seven after Russia launched the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This decision rewards an adversary while undermining U.S. alliances and fueling global instability. Meanwhile, the administration is expanding military deployments in the Middle East and openly escalating rhetoric toward total war. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has even invoked “no quarter,” language associated with the refusal to take prisoners and widely recognized as a war crime under international law. At the same time, diplomatic negotiations with Iran reportedly collapsed after U.S. representatives demonstrated a lack of technical understanding of Iran’s nuclear proposals. The result has been the collapse of talks and a rapid slide toward military confrontation. The risks of escalation were well known. For years, national security experts warned that war with Iran could trigger regional retaliation, including the potential closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical artery for global oil shipments. That scenario is now unfolding. And yet the President has publicly suggested he will know the war is over when he “feels it in his bones.” That is not strategy. That is not leadership. Congress has the constitutional authority—and the obligation—to prevent the United States from being dragged into another open-ended war driven by impulse rather than policy. I urge you to act immediately to: • Reassert Congress’s exclusive authority to authorize war • Demand a full accounting of military actions against Iran and elsewhere • Investigate the lifting of sanctions that benefits Russia • Restore oversight mechanisms designed to prevent civilian casualties • Require Congressional authorization before any further military escalation American lives, global stability, and the credibility of the United States are at stake. Congress must not stand by while one administration risks igniting a wider war without accountability.