[Trump is] violating the Constitution. You can’t, as the president, engage in strikes on a foreign country when there’s no imminent threat without coming to Congress for authorization. In this case, the missile strikes were characterized as a war on Iran. That was how it was as characterized in papers across our country. That’s how the Iranian people felt it. And that’s why Rep. Thomas Massie and I introduced the bipartisan War Powers Resolution.
. . . I have been consistent, as have a few of us, in speaking out against unconstitutional strikes, whether they’re Democratic or Republican presidents. . . . The Libya attacks [under Obama] were blatantly unconstitutional. Those strikes were also counterproductive. They incentivized countries to say, “If you voluntarily agree to give up your nuclear program, the United States may still attack you.” And the attacks on Yemen [also under Obama] were unconstitutional. Bernie Sanders and I passed the first War Powers Resolution to stop the refueling of Saudi planes.
The question for the Democratic Party is, are we going to take the mantle of being the anti-war party? That’s not pacifism. That means against these wars of choice. The American people are desperate for that. The anti-war candidate has usually won. And Trump outflanked us in 2016 and 2024 on an anti-war platform. I am pushing my party to be very clear that we will stand against these overseas wars of choice.
. . . The biggest problem in American democracy is the role of big money. It has skewed our foreign policy into bloated defense budgets, it’s skewed our foreign policy in the Middle East, it has prevented us from getting Medicare for All, it has prevented us from taking on Big Pharma and lowering prescription drug prices, it has prevented us from getting rid of fossil fuel subsidies. It is why I don’t take any PAC money. It’s why Rep. Summer Lee and I have a bill to outlaw super PACs that still would be constitutional under Citizens United. If you can regulate the amount of money that someone can give to a candidate, why can’t you regulate the amount of money someone can give to a super PAC?
– Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Ca-17)
Excerpted from “‘Blatantly Unconstitutional’:
Rep. Ro Khanna Decries U.S. Strikes on
Iran Without Congressional Approval”
Democracy Now!
June 24, 2025
Excerpted from “‘Blatantly Unconstitutional’:
Rep. Ro Khanna Decries U.S. Strikes on
Iran Without Congressional Approval”
Democracy Now!
June 24, 2025
Related Off-site Links:
Report from Tehran: Iranians View U.S. Strikes on Key Nuclear Sites as “Act of War” – Democracy Now! (June 23, 2025).
Busting the Fallacy of Trump as an Anti-War President – C.J. Polychroniou (Common Dreams, June 24, 2025).
“No, Mr. President – You Don’t Know What You’re Doing,” Says Rep. Ilhan Omar After Trump’s Iran-Israel Rant – Julia Conley (Common Dreams, June 24, 2025).
See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• Phyllis Bennis on the “Stark Danger” Posed by Israel’s Attack on Iran
• Democrat Talk on the Eve of Trump’s Return
• The Lamentable Legacy of the Biden Administration
• Inauguration Eve Musings (2021)
• Saying “No” to War on Iran (2020)
• Veterans for Peace Strongly Condemns Any and All U.S. Aggression Towards Iran (2020)
• Marianne Williamson: “Anything That Will Help People Thrive, I’m Interested In”
• The Relevance and Vitality of Marianne Williamson’s 2020 Presidential Campaign
• Major Danny Sjursen: Quote of the Day – May 15, 2019
• Jeff Cohen on How Obama’s “Corporate Liberalism” Led to the Rise of Trump
• Obama and Progressives (2017)
• Jeff Cohen: Quote of the Day – January 29, 2011
• In a Blow to Democracy, U.S. Supreme Court Affirms Corporate Personhood
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