Thank you for contacting me about the Trump administration’s continued escalation of tensions with Iran. I appreciate you taking the time to make me aware of your concerns on this important matter.
The Trump administration appears intent on establishing a justification for a massive war with Iran, focusing so much on maximum pressure that they refuse to consider even minimum diplomacy. Since President Trump’s apparently spur of the moment decision to target Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani with an airstrike on January 3, 2020, we have come fractiously close to an all-out military conflict with Iran. For some time now, the Trump administration has appeared to be purposefully ramping up tensions in the region, from contemplating outsourcing our war powers to a foreign regime, and dating back to the unilateral withdrawal from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, often referred to as the Iran Nuclear Deal.
I am relieved that no Americans or Iraqis lost their lives in the Iranian regime’s dangerous January 8, 2020 retaliatory strikes on two American military bases in Iraq. If the Commander in Chief was truly concerned about protecting American forces from Iranian attacks or preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons, he would not be requesting plans to drastically increase the number of American targets near Iran, and he would not be casually discussing targeting Iranian cultural sites, a gross statement that would amount to violating international law. He would have listened to former Secretary of Defense James Mattis and other military leaders and continued to enforce the Iran Nuclear Deal. Yet, instead of listening to national security and intelligence community experts, the Trump administration appears intent on taking reckless actions that only increase the likelihood of the United States stumbling into another disastrous regime change war in the Middle East.
As your Senator, I strongly oppose the Trump administration’s reckless efforts to trigger a war with Iran. The United States Constitution solely vests Congress with the authority to declare war and to provide legal authority for the use of military force. That is why I joined as an cosponsor of a Senate Joint Resolution (S.J.Res.) 63 introduced by Senator Tim Kaine of the Commonwealth of Virginia, which would prohibit President Trump from directing the United States Armed Forces to engage in hostilities against Iran, if such use of military force was not authorized by Congress. I am also a cosponsor of Senator Kaine's bipartisan S.J.Res. 13, which would repeal existing outdated authorizations for use of military force against Iraq. I would support the Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell using his authority to bring each Senate Joint Resolution to the floor for debate and a vote.
The United States Senate should fulfill its duty to our troops and our Nation in fully debating and voting on matters of war. Furthermore, the Trump administration must acknowledge that it lacks both the constitutional and statutory authority to unilaterally launch a war against Iran without Congressional authorization. Please be assured that I am committed to doing everything in my power to prevent another President from rushing our Nation into war.
Thank you again for contacting me on this important issue. If you would like more information on my work in the Senate, please visit my website at www.duckworth.senate.gov. You can access my voting record and see what I am doing to address today’s most important issues. I hope that you will continue to share your views and opinions with me and let me know whenever I may be of assistance to you.
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