Congressman Crow: “Once again, we are in a quagmire in the Middle East that’s not making us safer.”
WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Congressman Jason Crow (D-CO), Maryland State Delegate Ashanti Martinez, Major General Randy Manner (Ret), and former National Economic Council Senior Policy Advisor Aya Ibrahim participated in a press call on Donald Trump’s war of choice with Iran, now in its seventh month with seemingly no strategy or endgame in sight.
The Pentagon quietly raised the U.S. troop death toll to 21 this month, and the war’s price tag could be as much as $100 billion or more. Trump has walked away from peace deals and is reportedly planning new strikes after the midterms.
“Americans are fed up with spending trillions of dollars in the last 25 years on wars in the Middle East,” said U.S. Congressman Jason Crow. “Once again, we are in a quagmire in the Middle East that’s not making us safer. We have spent over $100 billion in direct military costs, spent down our stockpiles, further strained our military and our military families, and put tremendous stress on our hardware, our equipment, and our personnel. And Americans are paying more for everything as a result.”
“Families are already navigating rising costs because of tariffs, inflation, higher cost of housing, groceries, and health care cuts from the Big, Ugly Bill, and now folks are faced with even more economic hardship because of this illegal war in the Middle East,” said Maryland State Delegate Ashanti Martinez. “We cannot lose sight of the human cost. American service members have lost their lives. Hundreds have been wounded, and families here at home are living with uncertainty.”
“Even if the war was to end tomorrow, there’s a certain amount of damage and increase in prices that are built in,” said former National Economic Council Senior Policy Advisor Aya Ibrahim. “Donald Trump has made things expensive for Americans for many years to come, regardless of what we do with ending the war, which we should do as quickly as possible. American households are already on shaky financial footing and cannot afford this war or any of the policies that this administration is pursuing.”
“The Republicans in Congress have abandoned their responsibilities to the American people, and they are culpable,” said Major General Randy Manner (Ret). “They share the responsibility for these increased gas prices, diesel prices, and for not holding the president accountable for what he is doing around the world. We need to hold them accountable. And we need to ensure that the Secretary of Defense is removed as rapidly as possible because he is a clear and present danger to all of our military members.”
A recording of the press call is available here.
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