REP LIEU STATEMENT ON TRUMP ADMINISTRATION'S MILITARY ACTION IN IRAN

WASHINGTON - Today, Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-Los Angeles County) issued the following statement:

"Our service members executed a dangerous mission and I’m relieved they have returned safely. The first priority is to ensure our service members and all Americans are safe from any potential retaliatory attacks by the Iranian regime and the terrorist organizations that they fund. 

“While I strongly support the goal of preventing the Iranian regime from ever getting nuclear weapons, I believe military strikes ordered by President Trump on Iran need congressional authorization. From my first term in Congress until the present, I have consistently believed the Constitution means what it says: only Congress has the power to declare war. I publicly stated at the time that President Obama needed congressional authorization before striking Syria. My position that only Congress has the power to declare war has remained the same regardless of which party the President happens to belong to.

“A world with fewer nuclear weapons is a safer one for everyone. The autocratic and theocratic Iranian regime—if it had nuclear weapons—could launch those weapons of mass destruction at U.S. military bases, other U.S. interests, and Israel. Preventing the Iranian regime from getting nuclear weapons has been a longstanding, bipartisan goal. 

“There will be a bipartisan, classified briefing by the Administration this Tuesday. I urge the Administration to address what congressional authorization it relied on for the military strikes, if any. I also want the Administration to address many unanswered questions, such as if the strikes achieved their intended objectives, how the Administration intends to protect Americans and our service members from potential future attacks, and what the Administration’s plan is going forward.”

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