Today, Congresswoman Watson Coleman (NJ-12) will vote for the Massie-Khanna War Powers Act to put a stop to Donald Trump’s reckless and illegal war against Iran. Watson Coleman released the following statement:

This war is a crime committed against the American people. The American people did not vote for, did not ask for, and do not support a war with Iran. They understand that Trump is sending working-class kids to fight, and it is working-class kids who will suffer - both physically, spiritually, and economically - for decades.

The President has lied to the American people about the reasons for this war from the very start. We have been told this war was not about regime change, even though U.S. and Israeli forces specifically targeted and killed those who Trump thought would take over. We have been told this war was to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon after we had been told we had “obliterated” their nuclear program last summer. We have been told by some that this war was because Iran was planning attacks on the U.S., while other sources say they were not. We have been told this war was to free the Iranian people, and though I wish for freedom for the Iranian people, the administration has not taken any steps to ensure that freedom will come.

Meanwhile, the chaos that has ensued as our citizens have attempted to flee the region shows the State Department was unprepared to handle the inevitable fallout from the war - failing their number one responsibility: protecting Americans abroad.

Donald Trump is repeating many of the same mistakes we saw America make in Iraq and he is doing so without even attempting to appeal to the American people or their representatives in Congress. American lives have already been lost due to his reckless decision, and the blood of those soldiers who died is on his hands.

The founding fathers who wrote the Constitution vested Congress with the power to declare war - NOT the President. The President has violated the Constitution and, therefore, his oath, and in the process, thrown us into a war. For this reason alone, he should be impeached.

In the meantime, Congress must use every tool available to it to rein in this criminal president and put a stop to this conflict before it is too late. I will be voting in bipartisan Massie-Khanna War Powers Act to put a stop to this conflict.

I pray for the families of the service members who have lost their lives. I pray for the safety of those who have been sent to war. And for the millions of innocent civilians across the region who are caught in the crossfire.

I encourage Americans to keep them in their prayers. I also encourage the majority of Americans who oppose this war to make their voices heard; to mobilize to demand an end to this reckless war.

This is a government of, by, and for the people. The power of the people is greater than the people in power. We can stop this war before we find ourselves in another decades-long quagmire if we collectively and forcefully say, “No, we will not send our sons and daughters to die for Trump’s fragile ego. We will not sacrifice our democracy on the altar of profits for defense contractors. We will not let working-class kids fight and die for the supposed glory of leisure-class politicians. NO War With Iran.”