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Ro Khanna urges Trump to end Iran conflict
Congressman says renewed military action undermines U.S. security, defies Congress, and shifts focus from China.
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Pranavi Sharma - Thu, 30, Jul 2026
- 02:28 EDT
- 43
Congressman Ro Khanna / Wikimedia commons
Rep. Ro Khanna, the ranking member of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, has urged President Donald Trump to end renewed military hostilities with Iran, arguing the conflict weakens U.S. national security, diverts attention from China, and disregards Congress' directive to halt the fighting.
In a letter dated July 29, Khanna said Congress had already acted on the issue after both the House and Senate passed H. Con. Res. 86 last month, directing the president to immediately terminate military hostilities with Iran unless explicitly authorized by Congress.
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Khanna criticized the administration's decision to resume military action, saying the conflict has imposed significant human and economic costs.
“This war of choice has been a self-inflicted disaster that has cost at least 18 American lives and wounded hundreds of other servicemembers, burned through billions of taxpayer dollars, and led to rising prices deepening America’s affordability crisis,” Khanna wrote.
The California Democrat also argued that the renewed conflict has diverted U.S. attention and resources away from countering China's growing influence in the Indo-Pacific.
Khanna pointed to Trump's statement earlier this month suggesting the United States would impose a 20% tax on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, despite its later retraction. He said such rhetoric could create a precedent that China might use to justify coercive actions in the Indo-Pacific while undermining the longstanding U.S. commitment to freedom of navigation.
He also criticized the broader implications of the administration's approach to the conflict.
“Your actions and rhetoric threaten to turn the United States into the predatory bully our nation has so long sought to protect the world against,” Khanna wrote.
“This conflict must end through tough diplomacy backed by a global coalition of allies and partners, not extortion and blunt force. America must lead the world again as a moral example and enforcer of the global rules that you have acted so readily to violate.”
Khanna concluded by calling on the administration to redirect spending from the conflict toward domestic priorities, including rebuilding American industry and investing in the country's workforce.
“The American people want us to focus on improving their livelihoods and economic prospects, not more endless Middle Eastern wars,” he wrote.
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