The longer Trump’s unconstitutional war wages on, the more expensive it becomes. Despite the “Big Beautiful Bill” providing close to $30 million for the war enterprise — specifically ammunition — Trump and Congressional Republicans are asking for more. Why would American taxpayers contribute additional funds to an illegal and Congressionally unapproved war they find utterly unnecessary?
Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) joins Jen to unpack this outrageous ask and discuss those cowardly congressional Republicans' refusal to stand up to Trump. Sen. Merkley suggests that fear of retribution plays a role as Republicans “ have been under the spell.” “When people step out of line,” Merkley explains, “they get hammered successfully — and they don’t want to get hammered.”
Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) serves as a member of the Appropriations Committee; the Environment and Public Works Committee; the Budget Committee; the Rules Committee; and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He is also the Co-Chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China.
The following transcript has been edited for formatting.
Jen Rubin
Hi, this is Jen Rubin, Editor-in-Chief of the Contrarian. I am so happy to have back with us Senator Jeff Berkley from Oregon. Welcome, Senator.
Senator Jeff Merkley
Well, thank you so much, Jen. Delight to be with you.
Jen Rubin
There was a vote yesterday in the Senate in which every Republican save Rand Paul voted to essentially give Donald Trump a blank check on the war. It seems to be pretty clear in the Constitution that you guys are supposed to be the ones to declare war. What do you make of this?
Senator Jeff Merkley
Well, it’s very… It’s very troubling. And if we think back to George W. Bush preparing to go to war against Iraq. As much as I disagreed with the ultimate decision, he did come to Congress, he made his case. Many would say with well, poorly crafted information or disinformation over weapons of mass destruction, and the Senate voted 7723 at that time to authorize that war, but that was a constitutional process. And as envisioned by the founders, when Madison wrote to Jefferson and said, you know, we did this for a reason. We know from history, every executive in government is more tempted to war than representatives of the people, and that is a danger to a nation, and we need to put the responsibility on the representatives. Well, that’s exactly how it’s supposed to happen here. That’s… but President Trump,ignoring that, went to war without that authorization. I feel like he’s shredding our Constitution in multiple ways, and so we can take, just simply, he took the power of the purse, canceling programs that were authorized and funded, doing so illegally. And he proceeded to steal the tax powers of Congress in terms of doing tariffs that had not been approved by Congress, and now the powers of war. And we have a rubber stamp Congress. That is allowing an authoritarian president to diminish the checks and balances and violate the Constitution time and time again.
Jen Rubin
It doesn’t appear that Republicans even want to have hearings on the war. That seemed incredible to me. They say they’re satisfied with these closed-door briefings. Are you satisfied with what you’ve heard from the administration?
Senator Jeff Merkley
Well, absolutely not. Well, the briefings are helpful, because when we try to clarify the purpose of going to war, and you hear five different reasons, you realize that the planning was very muddled on the front end. The goals are multiple and messy, and to some degree conflicting, that there is no planning, zero planning, for what happens after the bombs stop falling. And I must say, today’s stories in the news that the president’s team is backing away from saying, hey, we’re gonna drop all these bombs and we walk away, it’s their problem how to clean up the mess. Well, the goal, of course, is to create something different in terms of enduring more beneficial relationships in the Middle East and with Iran, or at least you would think that the war has a purpose. And therefore, you need to plan for that purpose, but there’s been no planning here. So, we know how easily wars can be started and how hard they are to stop. We know that the cost can be enormous in blood. Both the blood of the folks in the country were attacking, and in our own service members potentially our own civilians as well. We know in Treasure. I mean, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq tallied about 7,000 lives lost, American lives, plus all of the lives in Afghanistan and in Iraq. Some 50,000 significant injuries to American service members and some $8 trillion in treasure. I mean, these are not small decisions. That’s why decisions should not rest with a single person, an executive, who maybe is prone to go to war based on revenge, based on bad judgment, based on wanting to carve their name into history, maybe a whole set of things that are not actually in the interest of the nation.
Jen Rubin
One of the most shocking aspects of this is they apparently made no plans in advance to evacuate Americans, and Marco Rubio the other day said, well, we didn’t expect that airspace was going to be closed. That seems remarkable. Have you heard from any constituents, any businesses that have people in the Middle East? What are they doing to get out?
Senator Jeff Merkley
Yes, we have had… My constituent service team is in contact with quite a few people who’ve contacted us trying to get… get help to get out. We’re trying to help them find out information about where you can take a bus to an airport that you might be able to get out of, how you can get a flight? But there was no planning for this, and that argument that Rubio put forward, that’s just garbage. I mean, they said their argument for going to war, one of them was, hey, Netanyahu is going to launch a war anyway, there will be attacks on our facilities around the region, so we need to be engaged in preempting and attacking first. That also is a very troubling argument. For a moment, let me just say, if they were anticipating attacks across the region, then, of course airports might be closed. And yeah, no planning to help citizens escape. But if I can, Jen, let me turn to this argument that Rubio put forward, because it is so disingenuous.
It basically says… and what we know from various sources, we know that Bibi Netanyahu came and said, I’d like to take out the ballistic missiles that are becoming a bit of a threat to Israel. Will you be supportive of that? And that was a request for support, because they don’t want to act without our blessing.So we certainly had the option of saying, hell no, we don’t want you to do this, because our areas will be attacked, because we don’t want to start a war, because they are not really threatening yet, or whatever. Host of reasons. We had the choice. But in the end now we’re arguing that we had no power to say no, no power to discourage Netanyahu from acting, and so we just have to get drugs because of what Bibi wants to do. What has happened to the United States of America that Bibi Netanyahu can drag us into a war. Where is the spine for Trump and his team to be able to say no if no is in the best interest of the United States of America?
Jen Rubin
I’ve got to say, these people must be the worst suckers ever born. BB has been playing this game with American presidents for decades. No one has ever let him do it until this one. Are they unaware that he plays this game with Republicans, Democrats, and other presidents who have just said no?
Senator Jeff Merkley
Well, I think… Jen, the story is a cover story. That the president’s team became consistent. They wanted to participate. They wanted to go to war against Iran. They wanted to help, crush it. There’s… they called Iran part of the axis of Evil for so long, and…there is a sense that, let’s take our military and let’s just do kind of… well, I’d say gunboat diplomacy, because… but that’s not the right word, because it wasn’t just diplomacy backed up by gunboats.
Jen Rubin
Yes.
Senator Jeff Merkley
But it was, in fact, let’s just use our ability to destroy another nation that behaves in ways that we don’t like. And…That’s the… that’s…I think they were very aware of that. They realized that it was a hard case to make, that there was any imminent threat to the United States. They did not want to come to Congress and try to make that case. They did not want the American people raising their voices and saying, hell no. They did not want reminders of the fact that this president campaigned on lowering costs and ending wars, and instead he’s raising costs and starting wars. So they avoided all that by launching a surprise attack. And one nation wants to be engaged in serious diplomatic conversations with us, when twice now, under the cover of… while diplomatic conversations are taking place, we launch a surprise attack. I mean, I don’t see people in Iran at this moment rising up and…Surely, at least for a share of people, even people who oppose the horrific practices of the… of the right-wing religious government, must also be mourning the loss of citizens in Iran dying under these strikes. And it’s a natural reaction for folks. How did we react when Japan launched a surprise attack on our military base in 1941?
We were infuriated. We called it a day that will live in infamy, that we should suffer a surprise attack like that. So I think the idea that this… we’re creating an opportunity for people to rise up and change their government, and kind of putting the burden on people who have no guns to somehow overwhelm a well-equipped military, and certainly the Revolutionary Guard, the Red Guard, was just a fantasy.
Jen Rubin
And, when people are hiding and frightened for their lives. They usually don’t run out into the street to make themselves a target for the bombs overhead. I want to ask you about the funding issue. We’re hearing this buzz from the administration that they might have to come to Congress. First of all I thought that the Defense Department was really swimming in money. And secondly, what would your response be if they came up with a request for more money for the score that you never voted for?
Senator Jeff Merkley
So, in the big, beautiful bill, there was a lot of extra money for defense enterprises, or war enterprises, and included, I think some $30 billion, about $20 or $30 billion for munitions. My understanding is those funds haven’t been spent. I’m trying to use my authority as the ranking Democrat on the Budget Committee to find out. I think they’re looking at this as an excuse to come and further enrich the war enterprises. My first reaction is extremely negative. I… Rebel at the notice, or the idea of funding an unconstitutional war of saying, well, oh, too bad, we’re in it now, we’ll help you conduct it. That… that seems wrong, but I think the best argument I could make would be, look, you’ve already got a pot of money for munitions that you haven’t spent. So, hell no.
Jen Rubin
I’m just curious, we have this phenomenon where Republicans mumble behind closed doors that they really don’t like something, they’re unhappy, but then they line up behind them. Is there any sentiment on the Republican side that they realize that this is an international disaster, an economic disaster, or even a political disaster for them. Is there any recognition on their part?
Senator Jeff Merkley
I think they’re worried.
Jen Rubin
About that, and the consequences for the elections in November.
Senator Jeff Merkley
But… They have been under the spell following the first Trump administration, of saying, we’re part of a team, and the leader of the team is Trump, and when people step out of line, they get hammered successfully, and they don’t want to get hammered. I mean, when Tom Tillis came out against the big, ugly betrayal of a bill, you know, the billionaires win, families lose, the bill that cuts nutrition and healthcare to fund tax breaks for billionaires and adds $30 trillion to our debt over the next 30 years. One person had the guts to stand up and say no, and within 4 hours, I think it was, the president had responded, saying, well, you’ll never get re-elected, and Tillis had responded, saying, well, I’m never going to run for re-election. I mean, it took just hours to knock him out as a U.S. Senator, and so there isn’t a group that’s willing to act together, and individually, they’re afraid to stand up, and they know that back home. Their base is watching news channels that are saying all the superlatives that are being told 24 hours a day how brilliant Trump is, and how effective this is, and how okay this is, with no mention of violating the Constitution, no mention of the massive increases in costs for American in terms of national treasure, and certainly the higher consumer costs that might occur from higher fossil gas, natural gas costs and the gasoline costs going up. I mean, none of the downsides. So, they know their folks back home are hearing a rosy story, and they’re willing to play this game, and I’m profoundly disappointed in my colleagues who took an oath to the Constitution. That should include defending the power of the purse, defending the power of taxation, defending the power of war and peace, because that’s the vision of our nation. That representatives from across the land make these decisions, not an out-of-control executive.
Jen Rubin
It is remarkable how little they want to do their job, and yet they want to run for re-election. Last question for you, Senator. The president has been studiously either ignoring or saying he’s already conquered the affordability issue, but we’re already seeing the price of oil soar and gas prices at the pump begin to go up. What are you seeing back in Oregon, and are people concerned, since they were already struggling, if they now have a hit at the pump?
Senator Jeff Merkley
Well, people are concerned, and they’re… they’re frustrated about this. They feel pressed against the wall, and…when we think about our… people say, well, you know, some… some folks say, well, what are they complaining about… the number of people in poverty really hasn’t gone up. You know, the poverty index and federal poverty level, that’s based on calculating food costs times 3. It doesn’t… it’s not a formula that includes healthcare costs or housing costs, and those are the things that have risen and just. Well, really eaten up people’s middle-class incomes, so suddenly they would hardly feel middle class anymore. And by the way, we need to change that formulation so it more accurately reflects how families are struggling in America. But I did notice that two of the ideas that I’ve been championing for years and putting bills forward with, Trump is now cheering on. One is that Americans should get the best price on drugs in the developed world, not the worst. He frames it as America’s most favored nation drug policy. In practice, he’s not actually making that happen, but he’s adopted that rhetoric because he understands people are outraged by the high prices we pay for drugs, and he’s also adopted my policy, or my legislative idea that we need to get the hedge funds out of the housing market, out of the single-family housing market. And in fact, the phrase he used in the State of the Union was almost straight out of my speeches, along the lines of houses should be homes for families, not a profit center for… for hedge funds. And, so he’s… his team, certainly, is recognizing that… that the prices are going up, and he needs to take initiatives to show he actually cares about it. They’re not translating that into powerful policies, but we did get the first ever limitation, fairly weak, in the housing bill that’s on the floor of the Senate. It still allows hedge funds to buy homes for another 2 years. I’m going to put up an amendment, hopefully I’ll get… you need 100 senators to agree to hear an amendment, that’s a problem, but try to say, no, no, let’s not allow them to keep buying homes for 2 years. It also doesn’t use the tax provisions I’ve been advocating for, that we shouldn’t… we should phase out hedge funds being able to deduct interest. And to use this artificial depreciation, which makes it much more profitable to buy up homes. It isn’t the whole solution to the housing market. We need to build a lot more homes, but people realize their kids shouldn’t have to compete against billionaires to buy a home. All cash, no inspection, fast-closing offers are hard to beat if you’re an ordinary American trying to buy your first home. So certainly, the president’s team is aware that he has a problem in this area, and I can assure you my town halls would put an exclamation mark on that.
Jen Rubin
Well, congratulations and thank you from American home purchasers. The problem is, I don’t think he actually comprehends the teleprompter as he’s reading it, so he may not fully grasp it, even if his staff does. But it’s a step, it’s a step.
Thank you so much, Senator. We really appreciate it, and we hope you can convey some spine and some seriousness to your Republican colleagues, because this is not a war that very many people want at all. So, thank you so much.
Senator Jeff Merkley
Did not be taken lightly. My colleagues had a constitutional responsibility to put up the stop sign and say, Mr. President, if you want to conduct more war, come to us and ask for an authorization. That’s what the Constitution says. I took an oath to the Constitution. I’m going to honor that oath. But they failed their oath, they failed America.
Jen Rubin
Absolutely. Thank you so much, Senator. We really appreciate it. We always love talking with you. Take care.
Senator Jeff Merkley
Bye-bye.
