General Discussion

Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark, Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, Democratic Caucus Vice Chair Ted Lieu, Assistant Democratic Leader Joe Neguse and DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene released the following statement:

Donald Trump is completely unhinged. His statement threatening to eradicate an entire civilization shocks the conscience and requires a decisive congressional response. The House must come back into session immediately and vote to end this reckless war of choice in the Middle East before Donald Trump plunges our country into World War III.

For years, Republicans have enabled and excused Donald Trump’s deeply dangerous and extreme behavior. Enough is enough. Our brave men and women in uniform have been put into harm’s way in the Middle East. Over a dozen have already been killed and hundreds injured. Gas prices are skyrocketing, the cost of living in America is out of control and billions of taxpayer dollars are being wasted on a reckless war of choice.

It’s time for House Republicans to put patriotic duty over party loyalty and join Democrats in stopping this madness.

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Chris Coons (D-DE), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Defense, Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senate Democratic Leader, Jack Reed (D-RI), Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Brian Schatz (D-HI), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations, issued the following statement in response to President Trump’s threat that “a whole civilization will die tonight” in Iran:

“We speak today with one voice and one purpose: to condemn President Trump's threat to extinguish an entire civilization.

“This is not strength. Intentionally destroying the power, water or basic infrastructure upon which tens of millions of civilians depend to punish the very civilians who suffer at the hands of the Iranian regime would constitute a war crime, a betrayal of the values this nation was founded on and a moral failure. It’s unconscionable to threaten the lives of so many people – grandparents, children, families – simply because they were born in Iran. President Trump’s reckless threat makes Americans less safe, further destabilizes our nation and economy and puts at greater risk U.S. service members. It only serves to push us further away from the only viable solution to this war: a diplomatic one. The president must not follow through on this threat.”