RELEASE: MURPHY STATEMENT ON TRUMP’S ILLEGAL WAR WITH IRAN
Press (Murphy)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 28, 2026
CONTACT
Deni Kamper
MURPHY STATEMENT ON TRUMP’S ILLEGAL WAR WITH IRAN
WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) released the following statement in response to Donald Trump launching an illegal war with Iran:
“Trump's attacks on Iran are dangerously illegal and a mistake of staggering scale. Has he learned nothing from decades of U.S. military disaster in the Middle East? Has he spent not one single minute studying the lives lost and trillions wasted in Iraq and Afghanistan and Syria and Libya? The American public does not want our President dragging us into another totally unnecessary conflict in a far-off land. They want him to focus on American lives — lives that are being ruined by an economy beset by flat wages, disappearing jobs, rising prices, and widespread corruption.
“A military action to eliminate Iran's nuclear program was totally unnecessary. We had a diplomatic deal to do that. It was working until Trump — against the advice of all his advisors — tore it to shreds. Trump willfully precipitated this crisis.
“As for Trump's stated goal of regime change, he should be very careful what he wishes for. If he fails in his goal, it hardens Iranian resolve to make trouble for the U.S. and our allies. If it succeeds, the chances are better that an even more repressive, more anti-Israel and anti-U.S. hardline government emerges out of the rubble than a tolerant, inclusive Iranian democracy will.
“The American people now see Trump for who he is — a would-be dictator who does not care what Americans think or want, cares nothing about our sacred Constitution or our laws, and sees himself as a kind of eighteenth-century king with unlimited power to drag all of us into disastrous wars overseas without the consent of the people.
“No, in America, we have no kings. One doddering, self-obsessed old man does not get to decide if we go to war. The people — through a vote of Congress — decide. That's what our Constitution says. It's clear as day. And Congress should be called back into session this afternoon to immediately begin debate on legislation that would approve or deny the President's illegal war against Iran.
“I am praying for the safety of U.S. forces today. They are being led into war by a leader who is out of control. Congress must do our constitutional duty and reign him in, before it’s too late.”
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