Rep. Greg Stanton raises alarms over U.S. strikes on Iran

As officials assess how significant a blow the U.S. has dealt to Iran’s nuclear program, the decision to go ahead with strikes thrusts the U.S. directly into the Middle East conflict, raising worries about Iranian reprisals.

Representative Greg Stanton (D) joined “Arizona Horizon” to discuss the decision to strike Iran’s nuclear sites.

Representative Stanton thanked U.S. troops for their bravery but expressed concern that the President didn’t seek Congressional approval to carry out the attacks or speak with them before doing so.

“Everyone agrees, Democrats and Republicans, Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. They’re a rogue state, they cause so many problems for their nearby countries in the Middle East. All of that region certainly doesn’t want them to have nuclear as they try to develop a ballistic missile program, intercontinental ballistic missile program, potentially putting the United States at risk. We can never allow that to occur. However, we still have the law here in America. The War Powers Act requires the president to work with Congress before taking such an action, and I think that there’s been different approaches to how to deal with it,” Representative Stanton said.

Representative Stanton spoke to the overall mood of the Democratic party on Capitol Hill.

“Look, we’re not gonna back down. Meaning this president wants to be more and more like an authoritarian, go well beyond his authorities under article two of the constitution. And we’re gonna fight him every time he does that. That is not his role to play, and so we, there were over 200 lawsuits challenging the overreach of this administration and unfortunately every case where a judge has reached a decision, they have ruled that this president continues to overreach,” Representative Stanton said.

Representative Stanton also shared his insight on the budget bill.

“There are so many changes on the Senate side from what passed out of the House. We had so many members where I sit, on our side and said these are red lines that have been crossed. So, we’ll see. All I know is we were adamantly opposed to it, most particularly because of the massive cuts to the Medicaid program. It’s going to be devastating for over 300,000 of our fellow Arizonans won’t be able to see a primary care physician,” Representative Stanton.