Is there a way out of Iran war? | This Is America

This is America, and this, of course, is the U.S. Capitol, where the Democratic Party wants to use its midterm majorities to try and bring an end to the war in Iran. There is already pressure building on Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary. But what else might they think of doing? I'll be looking at the options in a few minutes' time. First, though, let's go to our Washington, D.C. studio and Alex Marquardt. Thank you, Richard. When the United States and Israel launched the first attacks against Iran in late February, President Trump said the operation would be done in just a few weeks. But we are now eight and a half months later, and it is still going on. The war has cost... Twenty-three U.S. service personnel's lives, almost 900 more have been injured. American bases across the Middle East have been targeted and damaged, and there have been tens of billions of dollars spent so far on this war. Today is Veterans Day, and as America marks it, families of those deployed in the region have anxiously been waiting for their loved ones to return home. Those families, like all Americans, are also struggling with the fallout from the war, specifically the high cost to fill up gas tanks and to put food on the table. President Trump even has gone so far as to say that the war hurt him in the midterms. But then today, speaking in front of veterans at Arlington National Cemetery, he said it is still a question of when this war ends. America did not start a war with Iran. Iran has been waging war on America since 1979. This should have been taken care of a long time ago. Under this administration, thank you. Under this administration, and it was about time, somebody fought back. All of us fought back. We fought back. And we seriously fought back. And we won. Just a question of when we want to end it. We want to make sure we have a total victory, not a 93% victory. It's going to be total. Now, newly elected Democrats have been calling for an immediate end to this war, and they say that it will be a top priority for them when the new Congress is sworn in in January. Take a listen. This war in Iran is a disaster, and it must end. When I'm in the U.S. Senate, I will fight to bring this war to a close so that we can bring down costs for Texans. End this stupid war. It makes no sense. We're paying for it. So just what powers will the Democrats have as they look to force Donald Trump to find an off-ramp for these hostilities? Our Alex Barrett explains. Right, so let's dig into how all of this is supposed to work from a U.S. point of view. The Constitution gives Congress the power to declare a war, to raise the troops, and to support them. But it also makes that man over there the President Donald Trump Commander-in-Chief. Now, if that Commander-in-Chief, as he did, decides to send troops into hostilities, he has to notify Congress within 48 hours. Effectively, that starts a 60-day clock, during which Donald Trump has to either formally end those hostilities or seek approval from Congress. But how did that actually happen in practice? Let's dig in. So the war with Iran started, and so did that clock. But the administration argues the deadline doesn't apply because the war effectively ended when the ceasefire began in early April. Now, fighting resumed in July, and the administration said a new 60-day clock had started. That clock ran out in early September, and the war has carried on without congressional approval. In June, the House and the Senate passed a resolution ordering the President to pull US forces out unless Congress approved the war. But it's what you call a concurrent resolution. That means the President doesn't have to sign it and the White House argues it's not binding. After all of that, you might be asking, what power does Congress actually have? Well, they have one really big one, and that is money. They get to decide how much money the Pentagon gets, and so the White House is now asking for $67 billion more for this war. The problem is the makeup of the Senate and the House is about to change. So if the Republicans want to push through that funding, they'll have to do it very soon. All right, let's discuss what could happen with Iran with our guest. Today we have Vedant Patel. He is a former spokesperson at the U.S. Department of State under President Joe Biden, and Douglas Sloan, who is a Democratic strategist. Thank you both for joining me today. This is a really interesting moment in this war, and we've had some pretty honest feelings from the Trump administration. J.D. Vance coming out the morning after the midterm saying we lost because of the war in Iran. Trump even allowing for the fact that perhaps it was the war in Iran and the gas prices that hurt Republicans. Douglas, to you first, when you listen to Trump today at Arlington National Cemetery, basically saying that the war is 93% done, does that sound like someone who is going to take stock of what has just happened in this country and change course? Absolutely not. I don't think that Trump learned his lesson from the midterms. The Republicans got a shellacking on November the 3rd, and it was largely due to the Democrats convening around this message of foreign intervention in Iran causing high gas prices. causing domestic inflation on groceries and overall ruining the U.S. economy. And when it comes down to it, the most important thing to voters is quality of life, is being able to afford your gas, afford your groceries, you know, get your kids into that school, Affording clothes, affording basic needs that every American... Should have a right to in a country as rich as this is. And so many people were struggling with that. So you see J.D. Vance has already started to diverge from this pro-war stance in the White House. And Thomas Massey took the extraordinary step of trying to impeach Pete Hegseth of defense. And so, you know, Trump doesn't seem to get it. And the longer he sticks with this pro-war stance, the better Democrats are going to do in the coming days headed up to the presidential election in 2028. But Vedant, as a former communicator for a president, I mean, those were scripted remarks. What do you think the American people should take away from Trump's remarks in terms of what military action could follow? Look, it's pretty clear that this is an administration that I think has lost credibility when it comes to talking about timelines or completion and things like that. As you said at the very beginning, this was a conflict that was supposed to only last a matter of weeks. And here we are in month eight and Americans continue to pay for more at the pump. And so it is really unclear sort of. How the White House is strategizing around this and what their thinking is, but if Tuesday is any indication, I think the American people are pretty fed up and they're looking for some clear indication on what's going to happen from here, and they're going to be looking for Congress to have that oversight responsibility. I know that you guys aren't in the White House or even Republicans, but Douglas, to what To what extent, from what you've seen from The Trump administration, I mentioned J.D. Vance's comments, we've seen the ascension of Stephen Miller rather surprisingly to the role of chief of staff. To what extent do you think this White House is going to internalize that message that this was Iran that led to so many defeats across the country? And think about carefully what could come next when you look at that split in the road between military action and diplomatic process. Yeah, well, you know, it does seem like Trump is doubling down with appointing Stephen Miller as his chief of staff and, you know, just saying that, you know, this war in Iran wasn't necessarily the cause of all the economic woes. If he even admits that America is going through an affordability crisis, which he says is a Democratic hoax, you know, it just doesn't seem that he gets the message. Thank you. We're coming into, if we haven't already been here, the United States government, Congress is coming into an era where, you know. We're essentially governing between elections. You know, how well can you govern before the next congressional election or the next midterm? Right. And that's what it's coming down to. And Trump did a horrible job and the Republicans did a horrible job of governing before the midterm election. And now Democrats will have a chance to show what they can do, push back against the White House and address the problems that people are facing, kitchen table issues. And I'm going to keep coming back to that because, you know, the democrats found such a great winning message for the midterms that they were able to turn Texas blue. Right. That is unprecedented. Mississippi looks like it's about to have its first democratic senator. That is unprecedented. Yeah. So democrats really are going to put a lot of pressure on the midterms. Yeah. They're going to put a lot of pressure on the midterms. Yeah. I want to pick up on something that Douglas just mentioned, Vedant, and that's the impeachment of Pete Hegseth, which, of course, Thomas Massie, a Republican, is trying to do now. Democrats almost certainly will pick it up once they're in control if it fails now. Is the Democratic challenge making this not look vengeful and vindictive, but actually part and parcel of this war? In Iran, how much do they need to communicate that? I think it needs to be front and center, that this is not some sort of revenge tour or anything like that, that this is really about the erratic nature in which this conflict was managed from Washington, D.C., in large part by President Trump, Vice President Vance, and of course Secretary of Defense Hegseth, Secretary of State Rubio. All of these guys had a role. They certainly had agency. And so I think their, you know, Tuesday morning quarterbacking, you know, with the vice president's tweet is cute. But I think certainly these were the decision makers behind this. The reason that this has gone on for eight months, the reason that service members have lost their lives is because of how this conflict was managed and adjudicated, and they need to be held responsible and accountable for that. We obviously are in a lame duck session here, where Republicans can actually get some things done if they want to. Douglas, to what extent do you think Republicans in Congress and strategists like yourself on the other side of the aisle in terms of their advice for these Republicans, are going I think we're going to have to think about that. I think we're going to have to think about that. I think we're going to have to think about that. I think we're going to have to think about that. I think we're going to have to think about that. I think we're going to have to think about that. I think we're going to have to think about that. I think we're going to have to think about that. I think we're going to have to think about that. I think we're going to have to Well, I would hope so. I would hope think about that. I think we're going to have to that the Republican Party would make an effort to think about that. I think we're going to have to return to normalcy. I would hope that now they understand think about that. I think we're going to have to think about that. I think we're going to have to that Trump doesn't quite have the think about that. power that he used to have. He doesn't have a blank check mandate to do what he wants. Most of the candidates that he supported lost. So obviously, you know, this is and he's going to be gone in two years. If the Republicans have any political sense, they will make an effort to salvage The party, they will make an effort to salvage some support for the party, and that starts now. That just won't start in January when the Democrats are sworn in and the Republicans are largely going to be marginalized. That should start now. If they have, if they're strategic, if they're being strategic about this, right now. They would start holding some of those officials accountable. They will start making an effort to turn back some of the corruption, internal corruption that we haven't talked about regarding Trump with the cryptocurrencies and him gutting all of the environmental protections in the country. I mean, Trump really did a number on many of the regulations and rules and laws in this country and has acted like a godfather of sorts in the White House. And to try to salvage their party for 2028, it would behoove them to start to push back against Trump and make an effort to return to normalcy. Let's get back to the way it was before, before things were so crazy. And that includes curtailing ICE. Right. Bringing forth the Epstein files, making the Epstein files fully unredacted and accessible so the American people can see what's going on. It's obviously hard to take Trump at his word in terms of these timelines because he and others in the administration said it was going to be four or five weeks when this war started back on February 28th. Now he's saying it's 93 percent done. Vedant, do you get the sense that at least at this point there is a strategy? And to what extent or what do you think a diplomatic off-ramp would look like? Absolutely. I don't think that there's a strategy. I'm not sure that there has been a strategy in the first place. I think we've sort of been doing a dance around this for quite some time, and I think this really ultimately all started in the first Trump administration with this sort of unilateral withdrawal of the JCPOA, more commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal, which the United States did on its own, sort of without coordination with our other partners who were sort of party to that treaty, and that's now we're sort of in this game where it's unclear what the I think the Trump administration hasn't laid out their theory of the case of why they want to do this, other than, I think, regime change in Tehran, which, you know, people are welcome to their own opinions, but clearly this had a downstream impact on the American people. And so I think a different strategy is required. And ultimately, I think, you know, what we go back, what we keep coming back to is, you know, experienced foreign policy hands is trying to find a way. to get back into a diplomatic solution that is akin to the original Iran nuclear deal that was withdrawn from. Well, what is clear, at least on the Democratic side, is that they now have to try to fulfill campaign promises to end this war and help drive down those costs for people all across the country. Our Richard Gaisford has been looking into what they might do in the next Congress. He's said it before, and he's saying it again. We're seeing momentum toward the end of this conflict. I think it's going to be ending fairly soon. The president declaring the war with Iran to be effectively over, but says his forces will remain locked and loaded. Democrats are now deciding what line of attack they'll take to bring U.S. troops home. It is their war in Iran that is raising the price of our gas and our groceries. Having made a cost of living crisis caused by conflict a major part of their campaigns, finding the right key to unlock a solution is now a priority. With sizeable majorities in both the House and the Senate, Democrats here in Congress will have increased powers for the final two years of the Trump presidency. Well, they could exercise total control, refuse to agree a budget and then just turn off the flow of finance. But letting funds run dry during active military operations could be dangerous. There's potential for forcing further votes using the War Powers Resolution, but increasing pressure on the self-declared Secretary of War might well be an easier move. He can see a newly emboldened army of them heading his way. Opponents, it's all about the politics of personal destruction. Didn't work against President Trump, and it won't work with me. You can rest assured of that. Republican Thomas Massey's attempt to impeach him may have failed, but it could just be the start. When the Democrats get in charge, they are going to be... Very vicious. You will not answer. Democrats have certainly developed a taste for taking aim at Pete Hegseth's decisions. Win the war. The men and women are going to be able to do it, but they need to have leadership. When will you show leadership? Of course we have leadership. When will you show leadership? How we doing, sailors? Whilst Republican support for Hegseth and the war has been fractured, dislike of him and the conflict has seemingly unified Democratic ranks. He shredded the law and the Constitution. With impunity, and there was no circumstance that justifies Pete Hegseth continuing to hold this position. With the president and Pete Hegseth deeply entrenched, the fighting to end the war could soon get fiercer than ever. Richard Gaisford, Al Jazeera, Washington. So Democrats haven't had much luck with war powers. They brought a lot of votes up using the War Powers Act, and that obviously hasn't changed anything when it comes to the Iran war. Vedant, when you look ahead to what Democrats could do in the next Congress, is it essentially this power of the purse, financial strangulation of the Pentagon that is their primary tool? That really is it. I mean, look, Tuesday was a great night for Democrats, but, you know, looking at the entire chessboard, Donald Trump. Trump is still president. He still controls the executive branch. And so the appropriative levers that both chambers have is really the, I think, silver bullet here. And much like what Democrats did and what the legislature did during Vietnam, in which cutting off appropriation really was ultimately what ended that conflict, there is an opportunity here to do something very similar as it relates to what's going on in the Strait of Hormuz in the Middle East right now. Douglas, Republicans could easily sell that as... You are cutting off funding of our troops during an active war. Is that a difficult line for Democrats to walk? I don't think it will be as difficult as the Republicans trying to hold the line and stay the course with a very, very unpopular war that essentially lost them the midterm elections. We just saw Pete Hegseth give a little spiel about, you know, it didn't work with Trump and it's not going to work with me, kind of an effort to win hearts and minds. Those days are over. This war is incredibly unpopular and people are seeing results. at the kitchen table. So at this point, the vast majority of the American public want this war over. They want the Strait of Hormuz open. Of course, we don't want Iran to gain a nuclear bomb, but they don't need it. They have the Strait of Hormuz. They don't need a nuclear bomb here. They're not going to do any nuclear strike. They're going to choke off the Strait of Hormuz and watch America slowly suffocate. So they understand that calculus. And, you know, it's about time the Republicans get on board with the Democrats and make an effort to return this country to normalcy, get the gas prices down, the grocery prices down. and effectively stop Trump from running a criminal enterprise out side of the White House. I would like to ask you both to put a little bit more nuance into the conversation around democrats because they're not a monolithic bunch. They're going to have huge majorities in both the house and the senate. We're going to have huge majorities in both the House and the Senate. More than, you know, close to 260 seats when all is said and done on the House side. You have both talked about divisions among the Democrats on Iran. Vedant, to you first, where do you see those fault lines? I think that there is on this issue, there is uniform agreement in that this kind of kinetic activity first strategy that the Trump administration has utilized is not working. I think that there is uniform agreement in that nobody wants Iran to have a nuclear weapon And certainly we need to be looking at this and how can we You know, rein in the regime, try and get back to a diplomatic off-ramp, but also continue to have steps and measures in place to hold the Iranian regime accountable for the bad things they do, whether that's arming proxy groups, whether it be funding terror networks and things like that. But it is clear that this war is deeply unpopular, not even necessarily because of the foreign policy. I don't know if the American people will actually have a point of view on the Iranian regime, But the downstream effects that hit American families at the grocery store and And at the gas pump, I think it's undeniable. Douglas, same question to you. Where are you seeing the divisions among Democrats on this? I don't really see a division among Democrats on the Iran war. Yeah, yeah. All the Democrats were fine with the JCPOA. I think that was very effective. We had eyes on their plants. We had eyes on their centrifuges. They were allowing inspectors in. And the Strait of Hormuz was open and gas prices were low. I think Obama did a great job with that. I don't think that is the main point of contention. I feel the main point of contention with Democrats will be Everyone's position on Israel, that is where we will see division. And, you know, many people are of the mind that it was actually Benjamin Netanyahu that got Trump involved in this war. He had urged other presidents before him, Obama and Biden, to do it, and they wouldn't do it. And Trump finally said yes, I guess because Bibi is one of his favorite guys. But, you know, the... U.S. stance on Israel is where we're going to see the division, given the genocide that's happened happening in Gaza. They didn't pick up on that because you, you know, more than most, you're one of a handful of people, I should say, who had to stand up and defend the Biden administration's policy on Israel, its support for Israel in the war in Gaza. How much do you think the Democratic Party in this next Congress is going to lurch away from the Biden administration's policy? I think there's a lot of things under the sort of umbrella of our relationship with Israel that needs to be reckoned with. And it's clear that we can't go back to a status quo. And so I think Democrats are going to have some very important and tough conversations as a caucus. But also I think 2028ers are going to have these conversations as well on what does our relationship look like when it comes to security assistance, what kind of accountability measures do we want to have for violence in the West Bank and Gaza as it relates to settlers and settler violence. And overall, where does the relationship look like in terms of security assistance? What kind of accountability measures do we want to have for violence in the West Bank and I think those are important conversations and Democrats need to have them. When you look ahead to 2028, because, Douglas, I think you correctly keep bringing this back to the next cycle, because here in the States, we start the next cycle very, very quickly. Exactly. And so how much do you think Democrats need to take advantage of this as a wedge issue, where essentially on the Republican side, you've got the hawks pitted against the no-war MAGA base? Right. Yeah. And like I said earlier, it doesn't seem like many of the Republicans have learned their lesson. And the Democrats were easily able to tie the war in Iran to the problems that we're having domestically regarding the gas prices and the grocery prices. If they continue along that path, the Democrats will do very well in the 2028 election. We're not just talking about the White House, but we're talking about some more Senate seats that may get turned right now. Three-fourths of the governorships in the United States are held by Democrats. So that is unprecedented. So we really, as a result of this horrible foreign diplomacy by Donald Trump, we've seen a huge pendulum turn. towards the Democrats, and I don't see any division on Iran. I think the big division will be in Israel. There's already pushback on Chuck Schumer being the leader, the majority leader of the Senate, because he's so closely tied to Israel. There's a little bit of pushback against Hakeem Jeffries, but he has more solid footing in that regard. But I think both of them are going to have to come out and speak out against Israel, given the genocide that's happening in Gaza. There were all these memes, all this joking after the midterms that Trump achieved regime change in Texas before he did in Iran, but joking aside, Vedant, when you, how do you think allies alike in NATO, perhaps, but also the Iranians, most importantly, how do they see the results of this midterm? So, I think... Allies and certainly partners abroad hopefully see that, you know, there's some oversight mechanisms in place and maybe Congress can play a role in sort of riding the battleship when it comes to what U.S. foreign policy should be and our role in the world. Ultimately, I think it remains to be seen because the executive branch is still in control of Donald Trump. This is really a conversation, I think, for 2028 and what our foreign policy is going to be, particularly in the Middle East, but also what these candidates think that America's role in the world should be. I don't think it can be sort of a default back to the Obama and Biden years. Obviously, those guys were great, but the world has changed. And so I think there is a vacuum for American leadership. And I think people in the world are going to be looking for that. All right, Douglas, we have less than a minute. But what do you think Democrats can do right off the bat in order to squeeze the Trump administration to pressure him to end this war? I'll use the power of the purse, use appropriations, give some teeth to the 1973 War Powers Act and continue to push that message home about how this foreign intervention in this horrible war is making things bad for Americans at home. Continue to push that message, ride straight into 2028 because it doesn't look like Trump and me, the Republicans, have learned their lesson. Yeah, that's good for Democrats. There's certainly going to be a lot of work by Democrats to try to strengthen the War Powers Act because, frankly, it's been all but ignored for the past few months since this war started. Vedant Patel, who is at the State Department under Joe Biden, and Douglas Sloan, Democratic strategist, thanks to you both for the discussion today. Really appreciate it. And that is all from myself and the team here in Washington. I want to hand it back to Richard Gaisford and Al Jazeera's global headquarters in Doha. Well, that's it for this edition of This Is America. We'll be back on Thursday at 18.30 GMT. That is 1.30 p.m. Eastern Time here in the United States. For now, though, from outside the U.S. Capitol, it's goodbye.