Crow Calls on Trump to Abandon Nation-Building Abroad
WASHINGTON — Congressman Jason Crow (D-CO-06), a combat veteran and Co-Chair of the House Democratic Caucus National Security Task Force, today called on the Trump Administration to focus on lowering costs and making life more affordable for Americans at home, rather than his ongoing nation building exercises and foreign conflicts abroad.
Crow was joined at the weekly House Democratic Caucus press conference by Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, Democratic Caucus Vice Chair Ted Lieu, and fellow Co-Chairs of House Democrats’ National Security Task Force Representatives Maggie Goodlander and Derek Tran.
Watch Congressman Crow’s remarks here, and find a transcript of them below.
In his remarks, Crow said:
“As a three-time combat veteran, I get pretty damn hot when a five-time draft dodger like Donald Trump pounds his chest and bangs the war drums in Washington, talking about sending boots on the ground. We're not even a year into this administration, and President Trump has bombed seven countries. He doesn't seem to see a problem that he doesn’t think he can bomb his way out of.
“I learned years ago that when elites like Donald Trump bang the war drums and pound their chests in Washington, D.C. and talk about sending troops into the ground or into combat, he's not talking about his kids. He's not talking about all of his minions' kids. He's talking about kids like me and the people that I grew up with in working-class areas, rural places around the country that have to pick up rifles, jump in the tanks or helicopters, and do the thing. And do the tough work.
“Well, America is over it. America is over the $3 trillion we've spent. The quagmires of failed nation-building. The sending of our sons and daughters and brothers and sisters to enrich oil executives. America is over endless adventurism and using our military. Because they want their infrastructure rebuilt, they want quality, affordable health care, they want to be able to afford groceries, they want to be able to afford a home, and they want to be able to send their kids to school. Those are the things that we are relentlessly focused on as a Democratic Caucus.
“Now, don't get me wrong: there is a time for strength, there is a time for standing by our allies, and there are certainly times when our military has to go to keep us safe. But what have we accomplished in Venezuela? The Maduro regime remains intact. Sitting here today, two weeks after this mission, the Venezuelan people are under more oppression than they were before, because of the crackdowns. Americans are at greater risk. The cartels are running rampant and free with no crackdown whatsoever. And the drugs that actually are killing our children, fentanyl and meth, don't even come from Venezuela. They come from other countries.
“So, I want to know how many billions of dollars this administration has spent to remove somebody that Donald Trump simply does not like, and put in another dictator that he thinks will do his bidding. I want to know, and the American taxpayers deserve to know, how much time and money have been spent on their behalf. America is over it.
“We're going to push for War Powers Reform. We're going to reassert our constitutional authority, because it is not just our right, it is our duty to stand in the breach and take the votes and tell any President, Republican or Democrat, that you can't continue to send our men and women around the world into harm's way without a debate and vote in this body.”
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