EMILY KWONG, HOST:
So what comes next for Iran? The Trump administration's stated goal is regime change, and some members of Congress still want any next step to come with their authorization, which was not obtained before this morning's strikes. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York is among those still pushing to vote on a power - a war powers resolution in the coming days. He joins us now. Leader Jeffries, welcome back to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.
HAKEEM JEFFRIES: Thank you for having me on.
KWONG: First, what is your reaction to reports of Ayatollah Khamenei's death? And what does it mean for security in the region?
JEFFRIES: Well, I'm not going to shed any tears as it relates to his death. He's brutalized his own people and built an Iran that is the largest state sponsor of terror in the world. But what comes next is unclear because the Trump administration has not been able to articulate a plan, one, to ensure that U.S. forces are not entangled in a forever war in the Middle East, which we know would be a disaster. And this notion of regime change has never been successful, as most recently indicated by its failure in Iraq, its failure in Libya and its failure in Afghanistan.
KWONG: What would a war powers resolution do if passed? You've been talking about this for a while now. Just help us understand how it could change the situation on the ground at this point.
JEFFRIES: Well, the resolution would require that Donald Trump immediately terminate the use of any U.S. armed forces from any hostilities against Iran or any part of its government or military unless that is explicitly authorized by a declaration of war that comes from the United States Congress.
That's, of course, consistent with what is required by the Constitution. And it's required by the Constitution because the president, on matters of war and peace, is supposed to make the case to the American people, which we believe he has failed to make at this point, to justify or risk another entanglement in a failed, forever foreign war.
So the resolution would require immediate termination of any additional military action absent the president making his case to the American people.
KWONG: How will you convince enough of your colleagues in Congress to vote for this, including those who perhaps support some kind of military action in Iran?
JEFFRIES: Well, it's a bipartisan resolution that has been introduced by Congressman Khanna and Congressman Massie. We believe we will secure some additional Republican support, but we're working on that right now. We'll have a caucus meeting tomorrow, on Sunday, to discuss it. We know there will be strong support for it within the House Democratic caucus and strong opposition to what Donald Trump has done in this particular instance or moving forward. But we have a few days to be able to try to get to the 218 votes necessary to ensure that the resolution passes.
KWONG: This is all happening amid weeks of negotiations with Iran. So what do you wish the Trump administration had done instead? - because as you said in a statement earlier this week, Iran should be, quote, "aggressively confronted for human rights, abuses, threats to allies, and more."
JEFFRIES: Yeah, that aggressive confrontation, in my view, should involve strong diplomacy coupled with sanctions, as were very successful under the Obama administration in being able to constrain Iran's nuclear program. This was not an issue until Donald Trump walked away from the Iran nuclear agreement and now has brought us to the brink of a possible war in the Middle East. So aggressive diplomacy coupled by aggressive sanctions is the better course of action. And unfortunately, we've not seen this from this administration, which risks entanglement in another failed, forever foreign war.
KWONG: So to you, the only solution, the only way forward is to de-escalate. Would it be responsible to walk away after the U.S. and Israel started this, though?
JEFFRIES: Well, that's going to be a question for the administration to have to answer. They've gotten us into this situation. But what we do know is that further military action - you cannot engage in successful regime change or change the conditions on the ground simply with air superiority by the military, right? We - that became clear in Afghanistan, and that became clear in Iraq. It will also be the case in Iran. So disengagement, at this point, at least from further military action, absent getting explicit authorization from the United States Congress, as per the Constitution, is the next course of action that needs to be taken.
KWONG: The U.S. and Israel appear to be working in lockstep here, and it is an alliance that is fundamentally based on security, right? So I wonder in this moment, how do you feel about the state of the U.S.-Israel relationship and what it means for our collective safety?
JEFFRIES: Well, I think what, you know, needs to happen - and obviously, in the region, Israel's an ally, Jordan's an ally, and Egypt's an ally - I think as it relates to the Iranian question, we've got to handle our business as it relates to compliance with Article 1 of the Constitution and Congress only having the ability to declare war. As it relates to the broader dynamic in terms of Israel, the most significant question, to get to a just and lasting peace, for instance, with the Palestinian people, is going to require a viable path to a two-state solution.
KWONG: When it comes to Iran, if Trump's stated goal is truly regime change, then how much responsibility does the U.S. have going forward?
JEFFRIES: Well, the American people believe that our taxpayer dollars should be spent, at this moment in time, to actually make life more affordable for everyday Americans in an environment where the cost of living is out of control, where Donald Trump promised to lower costs on Day 1. Costs haven't gone down. Costs have gone up. He's spending taxpayer dollars in ways that are offensive to the American people, including creating a $75 billion ICE slush fund so they could brutalize and in some cases kill American citizens. And now we're seeing the potential use of taxpayer dollars to be spent in ways that will get us into a possible endless war. That's not acceptable, and that's not what the American people want to see.
KWONG: Last question, Leader Jeffries - what is your plan heading into this week when you go to Congress? What do you want to see done?
JEFFRIES: Well, we'll meet tomorrow as House Democrats, working to secure the support necessary on our side, and then continuing to have conversations with a handful of our Republican colleagues so we can actually successfully move this resolution at some point on Wednesday or Thursday.
KWONG: Democratic House Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, thank you for talking with us.
JEFFRIES: Thank you.
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