Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ) took to the Senate floor Monday to call out President Donald Trump for plunging the nation into war with Iran without the consent of the American people—and without a credible plan to finish what he started.
Kim framed his remarks around the constitutional role of Congress and the voices of military families now facing another Middle East conflict. It is the American people, he said, whose sons and daughters are sent into harm’s way, and they deserve a say before a president declares war. In his view, that voice was ignored.
The New Jersey Democrat, who previously worked in national security roles at the Pentagon, the White House and the National Security Council, said he understands the threat posed by Iran. But he warned that confronting that threat requires seriousness and strategy—neither of which he believes the administration demonstrated.
Kim drew a direct comparison to the lead-up to the Iraq War. As a college student in 2003, he recalled watching President George W. Bush make a forceful case to the country about weapons of mass destruction and American resolve. Whether one agreed or not, Bush sought congressional authorization. By contrast, Kim noted, Trump mentioned Iran only briefly during his recent State of the Union address and has not sought approval from Congress for the current military campaign.
“We’ve seen this before,” Kim said, warning of presidents who manufacture urgency, invoke national resolve, and enter wars with unclear objectives. Unlike in 2003, he argued, Trump did not even attempt to make a sustained case to the public.
Kim recounted holding a town hall in Asbury Park, New Jersey, where he asked constituents whether they wanted the president to order an attack on Iran. Not a single hand went up. When he asked whether the American people should have a say before troops are sent into combat, every hand rose.
Kim: ‘Donald Trump Chose This War, But It Was Not His Choice To Make’
The senator criticized what he described as a lack of diplomatic effort and coalition-building. He said the administration failed to prioritize negotiations, failed to rally partners and allies, and failed to apply targeted pressure through sanctions aimed squarely at Iran’s regime rather than its people. He also faulted cuts to programs supporting internet freedom efforts for Iranian citizens seeking change within their own country.
Meanwhile, Kim said, the administration’s military planning appears open-ended. The president has offered shifting timelines for the operation—weeks, longer if necessary—and has declined to rule out deploying U.S. ground troops. Those signals, Kim warned, point toward a potentially indefinite conflict with unpredictable consequences.
He cautioned against pursuing regime change, citing the destabilizing aftermath of Iraq. While the removal of Saddam Hussein reshaped that country, Kim said it also damaged America’s global standing, created new security threats, cost more than 4,400 American lives, and burdened the nation with trillions of dollars in long-term expenses, including care for wounded veterans. He noted that a majority of Americans—including many veterans—now believe the Iraq War was not worth fighting.
For Kim, the lesson is clear: this war may have been chosen by the president, but it was not his choice alone to make. Congress has both the authority and the obligation to act. He urged his colleagues to support a bipartisan War Powers Resolution requiring explicit congressional approval for continued hostilities.
“It is the American people who deserve to have a say,” Kim concluded, stating that preventing a repeat of past mistakes is not only a constitutional duty but a moral one.
