Leading Illinois Democrats denounce President Donald Trump’s military strikes in Iran

The U.S. military’s strikes on Iran, conducted jointly with Israeli forces, provided added impetus for leading Illinois Democrats to step up their criticism of Republican President Donald Trump’s leadership, saying his push for regime change in the Middle Eastern country overstepped his authority by bypassing congressional approval.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, the No. 2 ranking Democrat in the chamber, said that while bipartisan support existed for stopping Iran’s development of nuclear weapons, “there is no consensus for another interminable war in the Middle East.”

“A war in Iran with the goal of regime change could be another long-term military commitment with deadly consequences for thousands of American troops,” the state’s senior senator, who is retiring in January, said in a statement on X. “The rash and unpredictable conduct of President Trump is a well-established worry in many ways but an impulsive commander in chief is a deadly combination.”

U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, who serves on the Senate’s Armed Services, Foreign Relations and Veterans’ Affairs committees, said Trump “cannot stop breaking his promises to the American people.”

“By illegally striking Iran, Trump made a choice — one he did not have to make — that puts American lives and national security at risk while threatening to draw us into yet another expensive, tax-payer funded forever war without Congressional approval,” Duckworth, an Iraq War veteran, said on X.

“He owes it to the American people he promised he would always put first to immediately come before Congress and attempt to justify how this illegal war will serve their interests,” she said. “In the meantime, the Senate must immediately vote on Sen. (Tim) Kaine’s War Powers Resolution to block this illegal military campaign.”

The three leading Democratic contenders vying for the party’s nomination to succeed Durbin in the Senate vowed support for a War Powers Act resolution to block U.S. military action in Iraq without congressional authorization to go to war.

“Overnight, President Trump launched a massive attack against Iran, urged a regime change, and destabilized the entire Middle East region,” U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly of Lynwood said in a statement, adding that Trump has not made clear that Iran poses any imminent threat to the United States.

“But President Trump has made it clear that he’s willing to lose U.S. military lives as something that ‘often happens in war,’” she said, citing Trump’s early Saturday morning video announcement of the military strikes and a warning to the American people to prepare for casualties.

“This self-proclaimed ‘peace president’ makes our country more vulnerable. He must answer to the American people and justify why he endangered the lives of our military troops and potentially entered us into another costly, prolonged war in the Middle East,” she said.

U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Schaumburg accused Trump of “ignoring the limits of his own constitutional power” by risking American lives “in an unauthorized war with no end in sight.”

“The president’s reckless decision to strike Iran puts our service members in harm’s way, jeopardizes regional stability, and risks drawing the United States into yet another forever conflict,” Krishnamoorthi said in a statement. “By calling this action a war, the president has made clear that he has once again overstepped his authority. The power to go to war is reserved for Congress and Congress alone. As such, I will be voting in support of the War Powers Resolution to rein in this unaccountable president.”

Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, who also is seeking the Democratic nomination for Durbin’s seat, said Trump “committed acts of war without any authorization from Congress and no plan for what comes next.”

“I’ve said it before: there’s nothing normal about this president who routinely abuses his power. Congress must act and we need a War Powers vote, now,” she wrote on X. “As senator, I would not authorize Trump to get us into another forever war.”

Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker, a vocal critic of Trump and a prospective 2028 presidential candidate while seeking a third term as Illinois’ chief executive, accused the president of “once again sidestepping the Constitution.”

“Americans asked for affordable housing and health care, not another potentially endless conflict,” Pritzker wrote on X. “God protect our troops.”