Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (1st District of Maine)
Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) released the following statement on her vote for the bipartisan War Powers Resolution, which would have restricted the Trump Administration from taking further military action in Iran without Congressional approval:
Let me be clear: I am against any war launched without the approval of Congress. That the president chose to attack Iran—a country four times the size of Iraq, with 90 million people, a massive standing army, and formidable weaponry—without so much as an Oval Office address, is beyond dangerous.
Only Congress has the authority to declare war. The bipartisan War Powers Resolution would have enforced that Constitutional power and required the president to seek our approval for any further action in Iran. Instead, Congress has basically given him a free pass and set a terrible precedent for future war powers disputes.
The Administration has not provided Congress or the American people with a coherent rationale for their strikes, let alone a detailed strategy or timeline. In the days since the initial, unsanctioned strikes, the president and his entirely unqualified Cabinet have only presented bumbling arguments, contradictory messages, and ever-shifting narratives. Their incompetence is dangerous, incredibly costly, and will yield catastrophic consequences for our country, for our troops, for the people of Iran, and for the world. Given the incalculable stakes and immense cost—an estimated $1 billion a day—of such an endeavor, I cannot and will not support this war.
Some are suggesting that, while the President should have consulted Congress before launching these attacks, now that the war has begun, there’s no way to pull back. I firmly reject this sentiment. Not only is it categorically false; it sets a dangerous precedent—allowing future presidents to start any war they wish, with the understanding that they can simply seek approval after the fact.
We’re already seeing the human toll of this disastrous and unjustified rush to war. Six U.S. servicemembers have lost their lives. More than 900 people, including civilians and school children, have been killed. Violence has erupted across the Middle East. I fear things will only get worse in the days and weeks ahead, especially if this Administration is allowed to continue conducting this operation without a cogent strategy or proper oversight.
Make no mistake: The people of Iran deserve better leadership than the brutal, oppressive regime currently in power. But history has shown us, repeatedly, that regime change without a concrete plan or broad international support almost always backfires—emboldening extremists and hardliners, sowing chaos and violence, and creating far more suffering than it ever prevents. Asking our troops to fight and die for a cause this ill-conceived, this poorly planned, and this unpopular is a betrayal of their service, and could potentially put thousands of them in harm’s way.
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