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Representative Marcy Kaptur is sounding the alarm.
The veteran Democrat representing Northwest Ohio commented that the war in Iran is “unpredictable ( as to) where the war will move” and that the conflict will have profound and “lasting repercussions for years to come.”
Concern regarding lack of congressional oversight
Ms. Kaptur’s concerns focus on a lack of Congressional oversight. “We have soldiers deployed; we have naval vessels throughout the region. This is costing billions of dollars,” she said in an interview with City Paper. “Congress has not been engaged and that is historic.”
An effort put forth as legislation before the House to force President Trump to gain Congressional approval for the war failed, although some Democrats want to revive the resolution forcing another vote.
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Mideast security
She is also concerned about security. “When you tinker around in that part of the world, there are repercussions and they don’t have to come immediately.” She added, the lack of information provided to Congress is problematic. “I think that our leadership on both sides (both political parties) has to get together. When America’s at war, we have to be together. And the way the briefings have been handled (and the lack of information provided to representatives) have actually been insulting.”
Kaptur, a member of the House Defense Committee, explained that she ran after, following, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after he left a recent meeting. “I said I’d like to know from which accounts you are spending billions of dollars. He would not answer. He said, the general accounts. I said, there is no such thing.” At another meeting, questions from Democrats were sidelined and left unanswered. “It’s like grade school (indicating a lack of transparency and maturity in addressing questions) and that is not fair to the membership.”
When asked if she believes the explanations given by President Trump for the attacks, she replied, “I don’t agree with that because the nuclear capacity of Iran has been well known over many presidencies for the last 50 years. Every other president had the option to bomb or even to invade Iran. They chose not to do that because of the potential consequences of an invasion.” She added that her perception of the public’s view of the U.S. role in the Iran conflict is that constituents are “in shock, I think people are still absorbing it.”
Remaining hopeful
Despite her criticism and concerns regarding the current U.S. military involvement in the Middle East, she is hopeful. “Maybe this will all work out, but right now it seems that we’re in the blur of war and perhaps the ships will be able to get through the Strait of Hormuz and oil prices won’t keep going up. But it isn’t just today or tomorrow, it’s what will happen going forward because of this.”
Other points discussed in the wide-ranging interview at Kaptur’s Toledo office:
- Attorney General Pam Bondi’s recent Congressional testimony about the Epstein files: “I was surprised at her behavior, if you want to know the truth, and, as for the victims who were in the room, she didn’t even look at them. I was really appalled at the way she behaved at that hearing.”
- The issue of affordability, and President Trump referring to rising prices as a Democratic hoax: “In our district, 30,000 people have lost their health insurance. In Ohio, half a million (have lost health insurance). I’m meeting people every week now who are coming up to me, saying ‘Marcy, I can’t afford the insurance.’”
- Clean water: “We were able to bring in some money to create a second (Toledo) water intake. It’s been long delayed and it’s really needed because of what’s happening with the climate and the position of our current water intake in the Lake (Lake Erie). Every life is dependent on clean water, so that made me really happy.”
