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Friends,
Congress is currently in recess, so there’s not much to report about legislation. However, President Trump recently launched 59 missiles on Syria. He did this without any Congressional approval, completely shutting out the voices of the American people. Every president must obtain congressional authorization to launch military strikes and President Trump is no exception.
VIDEO: Congressman McGovern speaks with 7News Boston about President Trump's attack on Syria. Click Here to View.
This unilateral military action by President Trump is deeply alarming and I’ve joined others in Congress to take action:
- Immediately after President Trump launched his April 6th missile attack against Syria, I joined Reps. Pete DeFazio (D-OR), Barbara Lee (D-CA), and Mark Pocan (D-WI) in sending a letter the next day to President Trump reminding him that he had less than 48 hours to formally report to Congress the legal justification for the Syria bombing, since he had failed to obtain prior authorization from Congress.
- In our letter, we didn’t mince words with President Trump: “Not only did you fail to seek Congressional authorization for this military strike, but to the best of our understanding, Congress was neither formally consulted nor notified that you had approved the use of a retaliatory missile strike on Syria. This sets a dangerous precedent for your administration and is in direct contradiction to previous statements you've made denouncing intervention in Syria avoiding further entanglements in the Middle East and ultimately putting America's interests first.”
President Trump needs to know both Democrats and Republicans will not allow him to continue his unilateral military action and failure to work with Congress:
- Currently, I’m working with Republican lawmakers, Reps. Tom Cole (OK) and Walter Jones (NC), along with Barbara Lee (D-CA), on a bipartisan letter to Speaker Ryan asking that the House immediately debate and vote on whether to authorize military force against Syria.
- I joined Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) on a letter to President Trump demanding the White House submit a proposal formally requesting Congressional authorization for the use of military force.
- I joined Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) on a letter to President Trump calling for him to take real action to help the suffering Syrian people and children. We are calling on President Trump to rescind his Executive Order and provide sanctuary for Syrian refugees and others fleeing war who have cleared the rigorous U.S. vetting process.
Now President Trump and Vice President Pence are escalating the rhetoric between the United States and North Korea as the authoritarian regime increases its nuclear weapons tests. This is even more troubling and I’m fighting back:
- I’m partnering with Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) on a letter to President Trump demanding the President seek and receive congressional authorization before undertaking any military action against North Korea.
Americans didn’t vote to give the White House a blank check on war. Lives are on the line. And we are already engaged in endless wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that are bankrupting our country. War is a big deal. Congress ought to treat it as such and do its job.
Sincerely,
James P. McGovern
Member of Congress
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