Murray: “This President is ordering our kids to be shipped off into war from his beach club in Florida—that is obscene. And, tragically, American families are already paying the cost of Trump’s war as the lives of our brave American servicemembers—our sons and daughters—are lost.”
ICYMI: Senator Murray Calls for Congress to Return Immediately, Vote to End War with Iran
***WATCH: Senator Murray’s full floor speech***
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, took to the Senate floor to denounce President Trump’s reckless war of choice in Iran. She slammed the Trump administration for its lack of a coherent strategy and for the President blatantly breaking his promises to lower prices and not start any new wars. Senator Murray urged her colleagues in Congress to assert their constitutional, coequal role and stop the President from risking American lives or spending taxpayer dollars for yet another regime change war in the Middle East.
Senator Murray’s remarks, as delivered on the Senate floor today, are below:
“President Trump promised to deliver Americans: ‘lower prices’ and ‘no new wars.’ When it comes to broken promises—it does not get more blatant than that.
“First: Prices are soaring. Republicans let health care premiums double. They slashed Medicaid and food stamps and Republicans allowed Trump to hit families with the largest tax increase in American history—his tariffs that are squeezing family budgets and shutting down businesses. But, not content to only break his promise of lower prices, President Trump is also breaking his promise of no new wars.
“Trump is charging ahead with new conflicts—without approval from Congress, without any long-term strategy, and without any concern about who will be paying for the consequences of his actions in Venezuela, and now in Iran.
“Trump—who is a billionaire—knows he is not going to pay for the war, he knows his family is not going to be on the front lines. Instead, everyday Americans are going to pay the cost of Trump’s war with higher prices and worse inflation—fueled by oil prices that are already rising.
“American families are going to pay for Trump’s war in lost opportunities as billions upon billions of dollars that could have gone to build affordable housing, or making child care accessible, or lowering your health care premium, are now squandered on more missiles set to be launched by a trigger-happy billionaire with no concept of the repercussions.
“I mean seriously, this President is ordering our kids to be shipped off into war from his beach club in Florida—that is obscene. And, tragically, American families are already paying the cost of Trump’s war as the lives of our brave American servicemembers—our sons and daughters—are lost.
“My heart goes out to the families who have already lost a loved one in Trump’s war. And my thoughts are with the rest of our servicemembers on the frontlines, and their family members back home, all of whom, are watching the news and anxiously waiting to hear what happens next.
“You deserve a clear strategy from any President before he puts you in harm’s way. Not a President who shrugs his shoulders about how long this will go. Not a President who doesn’t know, and doesn’t care, if he will put American boots on the ground. And, not a Congress led by Republicans that refuse to do their job, and hold the President accountable to the people, before our citizens are put in danger.
“You know how I can tell President Trump has no strategy?
“Well I have been listening to him! Because I have been scouring every statement from this Administration—in public remarks, in private briefings—for any inkling of a cohesive strategy, a real plan, even a spark of critical thinking about what happens next.
“No one here mourns the Supreme Leader, but no one in this administration has a clear answer about what happens next. I strongly support the millions of Iranians who have been protesting and speaking out for freedom and democracy.
“But you don’t bring democracy to the Middle East with bombs—haven’t we learned that by now? There is no guarantee that what comes next means a safer world for all of us or a democracy for the Iranian people.
“War should always be a last resort, but of course, the same people who came up with a name like ‘Operation Epic Fury,’ can’t seem to think of a plan more nuanced than: blow things up and pat themselves on the back—regardless of the fallout.
“Maybe that’s why Trump refused to make an address to the American people laying out his rationale before this strike. Maybe that’s why he refused to ask Congress to back his plan before he sent missiles flying because he doesn’t have a plan.
“That honestly becomes more clear every time a member of this Administration opens their mouth. After all, Trump and his officials are contradicting themselves one moment to the next—sometimes in the same breath.
“But the truth is obvious: Trump cannot pretend to have a strategy for this war when he can’t even say why he started it! First he says—we destroyed Iran’s nuclear capability.
“Then he says—just kidding!—we have to bomb again. One minute, the Administration claims Iran planned an imminent attack on Americans. Then they admit that was not true.
“Trump cannot pretend to have a strategy for this war when he can’t even decide on whether this is about regime change or not. His Secretary of Defense said—in the same breath ‘This is not a regime change war, but the regime did change.’ His Secretary of State says the Administration wasn’t targeting Iran’s Supreme Leader, but then Trump says ‘I got him before he got me.’
“And President Trump has also urged the Iranian people to ‘rise up’ on the one hand but suggested he’s ready to negotiate with the government on the other.
“And Trump cannot pretend to have a strategy when he doesn’t even care about the timeline. In one sentence, he said the conflict is ‘projected 4 to 5 weeks; but we have capability to go far longer than that; We’ll do whatever.’
“Excuse me? ‘We’ll do whatever’ that is not a plan. ‘We’ll do whatever’ is simply not good enough when American lives are at stake. And then, in a post yesterday—Trump said: ‘wars can be fought forever.’ Forever!?
“The American people do not want forever wars. Not again.
“And if you really want to understand just how callous and un-serious this President is about the war he is starting. If you really want to understand just how little he has thought about the American servicemembers, embassy personnel, and everyday Americans he is putting in harm’s way.
“Trump ended his train of thought the other day by saying, quote: ‘I don’t get bored. There’s nothing boring about this’ before he actually got bored of talking about the war he started—and moved right on to a topic he really does care about—his precious White House ballroom.
“You want to know where Trump’s true priorities lie? He has clearly put more thought, care, and planning into this new White House ballroom than he has his war with Iran. He’ll talk about it any chance he gets! He has a timeline for the ballroom. He has a budget for that ballroom. He has an actual long-term vision for the ballroom.
“But not for the war he started from Palm Beach, Florida. Not for a war with American lives on the line.
“And that’s because the problem is worse than Trump lacking any strategy for his war with Iran. President Trump also lacks any sort of concern for the weight of his decisions or any sort of appreciation of the sacrifice he is singlehandedly forcing on our military families.
“Again—that’s clear from his own words. What did he say to the tragic news that American servicemembers were killed by Iran’s response? Trump said—and I quote: ‘There will likely be more…That’s the way it is.’
“Or, asked about boots on the ground—about putting our sons and daughters in the line of fire. He shrugs it off! He says—and I quote: ‘I don’t have the yips with respect to boots on the ground.’
“That might be one of the most dismissive statements I have ever heard a President make about our servicemembers. It is reckless. It is insulting. And it is up to us here in Congress to say enough. But we need Republicans to join us.
“War is not some game. Our troops are not toy soldiers. Civilian casualties are not nothing.
“In Iran, hundreds have died, including more than one hundred schoolgirls. Children—they are blameless. Hospitals have been bombed. Shopping malls and homes have been hit.
“The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told the President that this war could lead to significant American casualties. Already, as we know, six American servicemembers have died.
“I don’t care if the media grades Trump on a curve—it is not acceptable for a President to shrug his shoulders at this kind of death and destruction and then provide no real reason for launching a brutal war of choice.
“What a disgrace to the office. What a disgrace to the role of Commander in Chief. The American people deserve so much better.
“If Trump will not rule out boots on the ground, then this Congress needs to. We have a constitutional responsibility when it comes to war. And I will never let us forget that.
“As I said in 2002—before voting against the Iraq war, due to similar concerns: I understand the consequence of war, I don’t shrink from that. My father was among the first to land on Okinawa as a G.I. He was a purple heart recipient. Growing up, we always knew our country may need to project force to defend our freedoms. And I know we have high obligations to the men and women of our Armed Forces who undertake the hard work of securing our freedom.
“In college, I volunteered during the Vietnam war, at the Seattle Veterans’ Hospital. Most of the patients were young men, my age at the time, who had returned from Vietnam traumatized. I carry that experience with me every day. It weighs heavily on my mind whenever we are faced with questions of war and peace.
“Putting our men and women in uniform in harm’s way—that is an absolute last resort. We owe it to them to do our due diligence first. We must have good reasons, based on solid intelligence. We must have clear goals and a plan to achieve them. We must have a serious plan that puts them in no more danger than necessary, for no longer than necessary.
“We should not gamble American lives, on incomplete plans, unclear objectives, and completely uncertain futures.
“That was on my mind when I voted against the Iraq War in 2002 and it is my north star today as well. But there is a big difference between what is happening now and what happened back in 2002 before the Iraq War.
“Because you see, back in 2002 the Administration came to Congress to make its case for war. The President went to the American people to make that case and his Secretary of State spoke to the U.N. I did not agree with this case—I voted against the war.
“But Congress, all of us, we had briefings, and public hearings, and serious conversations with the President and his leaders. Back in 2002, Congress debated, we deliberated, we voted. And—this is critical—we did it before the Bush Administration charged into what was, predictably, a painful war with no end in sight.
“But Trump doesn’t want any of that. He doesn’t want to make his case to America, or our allies, or Congress. He doesn’t think he has to. Trumps wants to bomb what he wants, he wants to kill who he wants to, and start whatever war he wants—consequences be damned. We saw it in Iran. We saw it in Venezuela. This is not a pattern we can ignore.
“The Founders, of this country, put Congress in charge of declaring war for a reason. This cannot be left to one man—certainly not a trigger-happy billionaire who is out of touch with reality. We, all of us, have to reassert our power as a co-equal branch of government.
“And we have to do what’s best for our country, and for our servicemembers. America does not want any more wars. It does not want more Americans killed because of a reckless President that a Republican Congress refused to check.
“We know what America wants. All of us do know that. They want us to keep the promises that Trump broke: lower prices, no new wars.
“I will be voting against this war. I urge all of my colleagues to join me.”
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