House Democratic leadership held a press briefing about President Donald Trump's decision to strike nuclear facilities in Iran and the Administration's lack of communication with Congress.
00:00Good afternoon everyone. Article 1, Section 8, Clause 11 of the United States Constitution
00:10gives Congress the power to declare war. The Trump administration undertook an offensive
00:23military strike in the Middle East and chose to ignore the constitutional requirement to get
00:35approval from the United States Congress. The American people deserve to know the facts and
00:43the truth as it related to the decision to strike Iran without securing congressional approval.
00:56What was the imminent nature of the threat to the safety and security of the American people that
01:08justified the strike that took place? What was the result of the military strike in terms of
01:20potentially setting back the Iranian nuclear program and their aspirations? We agree that Iran should never
01:33be permitted to become nuclear capable. Iran is a sworn enemy of the United States of America and a sworn
01:42enemy of our allies including Israel and Jordan. But there are real questions that need to be answered
01:55so that the American people have a full understanding of the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the
02:02truth. Is it in fact the case that Iran's nuclear program has been completely and totally obliterated? There
02:14apparently are reasons to believe that that was a blatant misrepresentation made by Donald Trump to the
02:23American people. That's one of the questions that needs to be answered by the Trump administration. What
02:31what are they running away from? Why was this briefing, which is already days late, postponed? Why is the Trump
02:45administration playing political games on questions of war and peace that relate directly to the safety and
02:56security of the American people? We're ready to undertake our constitutional responsibility on behalf of the
03:08American people on these serious issues, which include the need to get an answer to the question as to what is
03:19Donald Trump's plan to avoid another costly and deadly war in the Middle East, which the American people want no part of
03:31Democrats, independents, and Republicans. It's now my honor to yield to our distinguished whip, Catherine Clark.
03:41Thank you so much, Mr. Leader, and we are grateful for your leadership in this time. The Constitution is not a suggestion. Congress is not here for show. Our democratic institutions exist because there are no kings in our country. No one person has the right to declare war. That power belongs to the people
04:10people through their representatives. And yet days after this unauthorized, unconstitutional military strike, the American people still don't know what happened. That is why having this briefing, so late as it was, be postponed even further, is so critical. And I think we have to put it in the context of everything that is going on
04:38in Congress this week. As we have an administration that won't come forward and talk truthfully and honestly about matters of national security and potentially taking us into another war in the Middle East. We also are at the same time debating and on the verge of having the GOP pass Donald Trump's big ugly bill, taking away the
05:08the security of the security of American people to hit that first rung of the American dream, 16 million people losing their health care, half a trillion dollars out of Medicare, food taken away from or threatened by another 42 million people threatened with losing food programs in this country.
05:32What is this saying when the priority of this administration is to build a security, whether it is security abroad from aggressors or whether it is economic security and the security of knowing you can take your family to a doctor without plunging yourself into debt?
05:57And not giving the facts, not being level with the American people about why this strike was necessary and what they're doing to their economic lives with this big ugly bill.
06:12All of this is up to this administration to come to Congress and level with the American people and tell them the who, what, where, why was necessary for this military action.
06:28The American people, our service members and us as representatives and their voices here deserve answers.
06:37And now I am proud to turn it over to our chairman, Pete Aguilar.
06:42Thank you, Whit Clark and Leader Jeffries, for your unwavering support of American men and women who put their lives on their line each and every day.
06:54Our primary concern is the safety of American troops and American interests in the region.
06:59And unfortunately, the administration's failure to inform and brief members of Congress is just completely unacceptable.
07:06We need answers, we need evidence, and we need them now.
07:09The chaos and the confusion that we are seeing in the White House is not the kind of leadership that we need.
07:15We need strong, steady leadership, and the president is proving incapable of that.
07:21The Trump administration owes it to the American people to provide transparency immediately.
07:27House Democrats will continue to pursue rigorous oversight of the Trump administration's foreign policy,
07:33guided by ranking members Meeks, Smith, and Himes, as well as the National Security Task Force.
07:39With that, back over to Leader Jeffries.
07:41Questions?
07:42Mr. Leader, you just said that the president's characterization, that the program had been obliterated, was a misrepresentation.
07:51What is your assessment?
07:53No, I didn't say it was a misrepresentation.
07:55I said there have been no facts that have been presented to the American people or to the Congress to confirm that Iran's nuclear program has been completely and totally obliterated.
08:09Would you not agree that the world is safer now than it was a month ago?
08:14We have repeatedly made clear that the Iranian regime should never be permitted to become nuclear capable.
08:25One of the questions that the administration needs to answer is why did they abandon the aggressive diplomacy that was successful during the Obama administration,
08:36partnering with Great Britain, France, Germany, China, and Russia, to reach an agreement with Iran that actually did set back Iran's nuclear ambitions?
08:51That's a question that needs to be answered by the administration, which is why it's perplexing that if the Trump administration really does believe they have the high ground,
09:00why are you hiding from, why are you hiding from the American people and their elected representatives in the United States Congress?
09:09The Speaker, a few moments before you came out, said that the postponed briefing will now occur on Friday.
09:14Have you had a conversation about that with him?
09:17And also, you've said that you're looking for answers for the American people, but in a classified setting,
09:22how do you expect for the American people to fully understand what's happening behind closed doors?
09:26Classified briefing is just the first step toward the transparency that will be required
09:33because of our concern for both the safety and security of our men and women in uniform,
09:41approximately 40,000 in the Middle East who are now in harm's way.
09:47And we need to know the justification for that,
09:50as well as understanding how this unilateral action without following the constitutional requirement
09:59of congressional approval for an act of war makes the American people safer.
10:05These are questions that do need to be answered by the Trump administration,
10:09and the first step in that process is a classified briefing.
10:13Did the Speaker work with you to schedule that on Friday?
10:16Speaker Johnson has been a good-faith actor, in my view, on this issue
10:20because he recognizes, as a result of what Republican members of the House of Representatives
10:30have made clear, that the administration needs to answer questions on behalf of the American people.
10:40What explanation were you given for the briefing being postponed,
10:43and are you concerned that the President will use this time
10:46to continue to get U.S. troops involved in the conflict without congressional approval?
10:50We have not received any explanation from the Trump administration
10:55as to why the briefing was suddenly postponed.
11:02And the second question?
11:05There's real concern right now as it relates to the fragile situation
11:12in the Middle East, which is a tinderbox, which is why Congress,
11:20on behalf of the American people, needs to hear from the administration
11:23what was the justification for engaging in this act of war?
11:29What was the imminent threat to the safety and security of the American people
11:36that justified this strike without seeking congressional authorization?
11:42Pete, Catherine, do you want to jump in?
11:44Have you guys received a gang-of-eight briefing yet, and are there any schedules coming up?
11:49We have not received a gang-of-eight briefing, nor has one been scheduled.
11:54This is inexplicable.
11:56If the Trump administration actually believes that their actions were justified,
12:02what are they running away from?
12:05Why have they refused to provide a briefing to congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle
12:13and on both sides of the Capitol, including the top Democrats and Republicans on the Intelligence Committee?
12:19What is the administration hiding from the American people?
12:23At the highest levels of the White House, I made the request on Saturday
12:29for an immediate briefing of top congressional leaders and top leaders of the Intelligence Committee
12:38on a bipartisan basis, and they have refused to provide one.
12:44Mr. Leader, the speaker seemed to indicate that part of the reason that you weren't briefed
12:50on the initial strike was because the administration couldn't get a hold of you.
12:54Let's be clear.
12:54Let's be clear.
12:55There was no briefing that anyone received in advance of the unilateral strike ordered by Donald Trump.
13:05Now, all four of us received a perfunctory so-called courtesy call providing notice
13:16that something was going to occur in the Middle East.
13:22That is not a briefing, and the administration clearly had no intention of providing a briefing.
13:29I did talk to multiple members of the White House.
13:35On Saturday, but it was not in connection with providing any briefing.
13:40And as Leader Schumer indicated, when he spoke to the White House and asked the justification
13:50for the strike without seeking congressional authorization, the same question that I asked them,
13:59they could not provide an answer.
14:03Thanks.
14:04Go back to this side.
14:05Going forward, what do you believe that the Congress and the administration should do working
14:09together, or maybe separately, to prevent another forever war in the Middle East?
14:14Well, let me yield to both of my colleagues.
14:15And obviously, there are several resolutions that have been introduced with respect to congressional
14:25authorization of the use of military force, which is the appropriate way to go.
14:30And those resolutions should be taken up and debated on the floor of the House of Representatives with full
14:38transparency for the American people, which is the constitutional way to protect the health,
14:46the safety, the national security, and the best interests of the American people.
14:52Go back to what I said earlier.
15:01The Constitution isn't something that we use when it's convenient.
15:03And the way that it is designed, it has a role for Congress because we are the voices for American families.
15:10And yes, our initial briefings may be in classified settings, but it allows us to make a determination for the people who set us here is what is in our best national interests.
15:22And so whether it is the briefings that did not occur with top leaders in Congress or this delay, we hope it will happen on Friday, but it's been asked for for days.
15:36And we've been asking for information since the first bombs hit Iran with Israel back on June 12th.
15:43And so what we have here is an administration that wants to just rule by fiat and their their own desires.
15:54That is not how the Constitution works.
15:57And as members of Congress, it is our job and responsibility to assert that and to make sure that we have the information the American people are due.
16:09I agree with everything that the whip and the leader mentioned, whip Clark, join me and the vice chair and members of the Democratic Caucus National Security Task Force for people who have served in uniform.
16:25And while I agree with the policy pieces of debating AUMFs and matters under this dome, I'd encourage you to talk to service members,
16:36talk to service members who are also members of Congress here.
16:40There are colleagues of ours who have served combat tours and they know what's at stake and they are imploring us to ask the tough questions that might not have been asked 25 years ago,
16:55whether it was one debate and one discussion and we ended up losing thousands of American lives and three trillion dollars spent in an endless war.
17:06And so, yes, it's important what Democratic Caucus and Democratic leadership feels, but we are a reflection of our membership and our membership comes from all over this country.
17:22And many of them have served this country admirably and they and they are asking us, they are imploring us to be policymakers and to ask these tough questions.
17:32That's why we're here. That's why we're here. That's why we're being so forceful with this is because it is so important that we get this right.
17:39It is so important that we prevent American women, American men and women in service from dying.
17:44So that's that's that's what this is about.
17:49Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Leader.
17:52President Trump made the announcement of the strike on social.
17:56So much of the information that we're finding out is from his social media.
18:01Are you concerned that a social post or some sort of social media post could lead to unintended escalation?
18:09What what are your thoughts about how the president is just conducting his outreach to the American people through his social media channels?
18:17Yes, it's all extraordinary.
18:19You know, Donald Trump.
18:20Donald Trump stated on social media that three sites were hit were three sites hit.
18:28We don't know. That's why we need a briefing.
18:32Donald Trump suggested that there was a ceasefire and then it no longer appeared that there was actually a ceasefire.
18:39That's why we need on behalf of the American people.
18:44A congressional briefing.
18:47Donald Trump suggested that Iran's nuclear program had been completely and totally obliterated.
18:53Was that the case or was that not the case?
18:55We don't know. The American people don't know.
18:58The American people deserve the truth.
19:00Not truth, not truth, social posts that are increasingly unhinged.
19:07The American people deserve to know the truth.
19:10And that process begins.
19:14With a congressional briefing that flows from.
19:18It flows from the constitutional responsibility.
19:23That Congress has and has alone.
19:26To declare war.
19:28The Constitution is not an inconvenience.
19:34George Washington.
19:37In his farewell address to Congress.
19:40And on this issue, George Washington is the OG.
19:46The original general.
19:48The original war hero.
19:51The original revolutionary.
19:54And then the first president.
19:55And in his farewell address to Congress.
19:58He said that the Constitution is secretly obligatory upon all.
20:05That means everyone.
20:07That came from the OG.
20:09The original general.
20:12And Article 1, Section 8, Clause 11 is very clear.
20:18On behalf of the American people.
20:21Congress.
20:22And Congress alone.
20:25Has the responsibility.
20:26Of declaring war.
20:30And that is why the president needs to explain.
20:34Why he did not seek authorization.
20:36For the use of military force.
20:40I just wanted to ask you specifically for a reaction to new reporting.
20:46That in early assessment by the Defense Intelligence Agency.
20:49Now that the strikes didn't destroy the core components of the nuclear program.
20:53Likely only had it back by months.
20:55Just wondering if you've seen the reporting.
20:56If you plan to raise it to the administration.
20:58It's one of the reasons why we need both a gang of eight briefing immediately.
21:04And a classified briefing for all members of the House of Representatives.
