FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

February 28, 2026

MEDIA CONTACT: 

e: jessica.myers@mail.house.gov

c: 202.913.0126

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09) released the following statement:

“I reject Donald Trump’s illegal war in Iran, and I reject the unsound justifications he and his administration have abused to drag America into it. For months, the president has insisted his previous unauthorized strikes on Iran ‘obliterated’ its nuclear capabilities. From his own mouth, he declared the threat of a nuclear Iran delayed by decades, and himself a champion for peace. May the people of the world and our nation now see Trump as the farce we have always known him to be.

“The Iranian regime is brutal and terrible, and the Iranian people’s ongoing resistance to their government’s years of tyranny should inspire all people of decent and moral intent. However, it is tragically clear their salvation is not the true purpose of Trump’s exercise in insanity – nor is it even a secondary objective. In just these brief hours since this war began, we have been inundated with reports of Iranian civilians, including dozens of young girls at school, losing their lives to missiles shot by America and its allies. The very people whose future freedom and present oppression were used to justify this war have already been murdered by it.

“Without any imminent or realistic threat to our nation, without the approval of Congress that the Constitution demands, and without any consideration for the safety of American service members nor the innocent people in the crossfire, the president has taken the first step towards shackling our nation to another endless war in the Middle East. The American people did not ask for Trump’s war. The American people did not agree to Trump’s war. They do not want their sons and daughters dying for his war, nor their tax dollars used to slaughter someone else’s sons and daughters thousands of miles away.

“Donald Trump is a rogue president, and it’s clear he’s prepared to drag this country down with him. I refuse to stand by while he does. The Republican House and Senate leaders must call both chambers of Congress back into session immediately, and the instant we reconvene, I will vote for the bipartisan War Powers Resolution to rein in his mania. I am certain hundreds of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will do the same. Those who believe in peace want it known where we stood on this dark and violent day in these United States.”

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