Democratic Rep. Brad Schneider of Illinois on Sunday criticized the Trump administration's handling of the Iran war, saying officials have failed to outline a strategy for the conflict. The war, now seven months old, has killed 19 U.S. service members, according to Pentagon data.
"We need to explain to the American people what the goals are," Schneider said on NewsNation's The Hill. "We have to prevent Iran from ever getting a nuclear weapon, but the administration has failed to present a strategy and the actions they've taken have not moved us any closer to that goal."
Public support for the war has eroded as gas prices climbed. Iran's restrictions on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz—a critical global oil chokepoint—have driven the national average for regular gasoline to approximately $4.37 a gallon, according to AAA. A recent AP-NORC survey found that nearly seven in 10 Americans say the war has not been worth the cost.
President Trump acknowledged this week that the conflict could hurt Republicans in November's midterm elections. He nonetheless defended the engagement as necessary to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
"If you say, Is it OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon? I would say 100 percent of the people say no, including worldwide," Trump told reporters Thursday. "So when you say it that way, it would help. If you don't say that, it could hurt."
Decision Desk HQ currently assigns Democrats a 53 percent probability of winning majorities in both the Senate and House.
Schneider said that if Democrats control Congress, they will compel Trump administration officials to attend classified briefings on the war and testify publicly before House committees. He cited the Oversight and Judiciary committees as venues for investigating "what they have been doing, how they've been breaking the law, how they've been making life harder for American people."
