Here we go again with Donald Trump doing what he does best — writing checks with his mouth that the rest of the country has to cash. This time, it’s House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries who’s had enough of the president’s antics.
Jeffries isn’t mincing words, and why should he? When a man promises peace and delivers bombs, someone’s got to point out the hypocrisy. He accused Trump of misleading the American people, bypassing Congress, and putting lives at risk. And really, he’s not wrong. Trump had vowed to bring “peace to the Middle East. Instead, he’s thrown the region into chaos, this time by bombing three major sites in Iran, including uranium enrichment facilities.”
My statement on Donald Trump’s unilateral military action in Iran. pic.twitter.com/2ZjZXlPbrl
— Hakeem Jeffries (@RepJeffries) June 22, 2025
Trump justified the strikes by claiming it was necessary to support Israel in its ongoing conflict with Iran. But here’s the kicker: he didn’t even bother to consult Congress before launching the strikes. Let’s pause for a second here. The U.S. Constitution—remember that thing?—explicitly states that Congress must authorize acts of war unless there’s an imminent threat to America. Was there an imminent threat? According to Senator Chris Murphy, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the intelligence briefing he received showed no evidence of such a threat. So, what gives? Trump has always fancied himself a “strongman” leader, but skipping over constitutional checks and balances isn’t strength—it’s recklessness.
Trump’s actions are a far cry from his campaign promises. He sold himself to the American people as the dealmaker who would bring stability to the Middle East. Remember the Abraham Accords? That was supposed to be the crown jewel of his foreign policy—a set of agreements normalizing relations between Israel and several Arab nations. But stability? Peace? Those words seem to have evaporated faster than you can say “Twitter ban.”
Now, instead of peace, we’re looking at the very real possibility of a retaliatory spiral. Iran is not a country that takes things lying down. Tehran has already signaled its readiness to target U.S. troops and military assets in the region. So, while Trump plays geopolitical poker, it’s American soldiers who may end up paying the price. Jeffries isn’t alone in calling out Trump. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has labeled the lack of Congressional approval as “unquestionably grounds for impeachment.
For decades, U.S. presidents have stretched the limits of their war powers. From Vietnam to Iraq to Syria, there’s a long history of presidents bypassing Congress and dragging the country into conflicts without proper oversight. Trump’s actions are just the latest, albeit one of the more reckless, examples of this troubling trend. At some point, we have to ask ourselves: How did we get here? Why does it feel like every few years, there’s a new “conflict” in the Middle East that America just has to be involved in? Are we addicted to interventionism? Or is it that military-industrial complex Eisenhower warned us about? Whatever the reason, it’s clear that something has to change.
