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Dear Friend,
The war in Iran has taken the lives of more than a dozen American servicemembers and injured hundreds more. It has raised the price of gas in Oregon by more than a dollar a gallon and sent shockwaves through the global economy. The United States should not be at war. We need lower costs, not costly wars.
I’m writing to share my thoughts on where things stand.
On Tuesday morning, President Trump wrote on social media that “a whole civilization will die tonight.” Like many of you, I was disturbed by the post. I’m relieved that Trump backed down from his threat, but threatening a war crime in an illegal war is an impeachable offense beyond the bounds of responsible leadership. A few weeks ago, Trump was promising to liberate the Iranian people. Now, he is threatening war crimes against them.
President Trump’s post makes clear that he is not fit to command the world’s largest military and should not be trusted with our nation's nuclear codes. He has proven time and time again that he is not fit to be our leader, and I support any legal effort to remove him from office.
Right now, a two-week ceasefire is in place; however, it does not sufficiently guarantee the end of the conflict, given Trump has weakened the U.S. position by enabling Iran control over the Strait of Hormuz. Congress needs to put a full stop to President Trump’s war. I recently voted yes on the bipartisan war powers resolution to reassert Congress’ constitutional authority over the war, and I am working with my House Democrat colleagues to force another vote to rein in Trump’s abuse of power and stop this war.
Unfortunately, Speaker Johnson and House Republicans blocked House Democrats' efforts on Thursday afternoon to immediately vote on a resolution to stop President Trump’s war. House Republicans have the opportunity to do right by the American people and join us to end this chaos. Yet, they repeatedly choose to enable President Trump and abdicate Congressional power.
Right now, American families are rationing their groceries and dipping into savings because the cost of living is too high. Instead of focusing on the real issues here at home, President Trump and Republicans are focused on funding foreign wars to the tune of $2 billion dollars a day in our taxpayer dollars, while sending gas prices to a national average of $4 per gallon. Hardworking families cannot afford President Trump’s ill-fated and immoral war. I am focused on finding real solutions so that you can spend more time with your families and less time worrying about finances. That is my promise to you.
This week, my office received countless emails, calls, and voicemails about President Trump’s comments and the war. I want you to know that I’m grateful for your messages and that you can contact my office to share your comments and concerns. You can write to me at salinas.house.gov/contact or by calling my office at (503) 385-0906.
Be well,
Andrea Salinas
Member of Congress
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