MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
We're going to turn now to one of the lawmakers who has questions. Representative Gregory Meeks of New York is the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Good morning, Congressman. Thanks for joining us.
GREGORY MEEKS: Good morning, Michel. Good to be with you.
MARTIN: So you attended a classified briefing Tuesday, along with your colleagues in the House and Senate. Were your questions answered?
MEEKS: No. I mean, no, they were not. You know, clearly, the administration doesn't have a plan. That's what I was asking. I was asking about, what was the plan before to get Americans out before the war, to make sure that they were safe, and what's the plan after? And it seems clear to me that they don't have a plan. So it comes to me that when you fail to plan, you plan to fail. This, you know, administration just didn't plan for keeping Americans safe after starting the war, and they did not plan for what will come next in Iran. And they did not even plan for how much this will cost the American people.
MARTIN: The president and others in the administration have offered varying explanations of his motives for attacking Iran. So after the initial strikes on Saturday, you called this a war of choice. Since then, though, has the administration provided a legal justification in your view?
MEEKS: Absolutely not. And you see that they, you know - as stated earlier, you know, they keep flipping. The first justification that they gave was an imminent threat. They've not shown any imminent threat. Then it was Israel was going to go, so we had to go do it first so that we could make sure that they wouldn't be struck then. Then it's about nuclear weapons, but, you know, we heard that the president said that the nuclear weapons program had been completely obliterated. Then it was, you know, ballistic missiles. So no, there is no - you know, they're changing, and they're contradicting one another. One is saying one thing, you know.
MARTIN: Yeah.
MEEKS: Then the other comes back. So that's where we're going.
MARTIN: Given the evidence, given what you've seen, given the fact that you have access to information that many of us do not, do you have a theory, or do you have a belief about what the - you think the administration's objectives are?
MEEKS: Well, I just think that - look, I think this was planned a long - for a long period of time. I think when I listen to what Prime Minister Netanyahu has said, he said that he and Trump had planned this months ago. I think that there was no real diplomacy or diplomatic debate going on or talking, you know, and trying to say that they were trying to reach a deal. I don't think they were ever trying to reach a deal. I just think this was a plan where Donald Trump thinks that he can use the military in the way he wants. And he's already used the military in about six or seven occasions. And I think it shows. I mean, that's why he wanted to change the Defense Department from the Defense Department to the War Department, because he wants to create war against a lot of people.
MARTIN: So the House is expected to vote this week on a war powers resolution. It's co-sponsored by Republican Thomas Massie and Democrat Ro Khanna. This would demand congressional authorization before the president takes further military action. Now some of your Democratic colleagues have introduced an alternative with a 30-day cap on military operations against Iran unless Congress approves otherwise. Does this indicate that the Democratic Caucus is not in alignment, that there's a rift among - just on your side about how to proceed here?
MEEKS: No. I think that both are saying that the president needs to come to Congress, that the Constitution of the United States says only Congress can declare war, and the president has not done that. And so we are going to have a privileged resolution that's going to be put forward - a bipartisan one. We'll debate it today and vote on it tomorrow. I will...
MARTIN: Do you know how you're going to vote? Forgive me.
MEEKS: Yeah. I'm definitely...
MARTIN: Do you know how you're going to vote?
MEEKS: I will definitely vote yes. We must - you know, if - we're not a parliament and we're not an authoritarian government, or we shouldn't be, even though I think Trump wants to be. He wants to be king. But he got to come to Congress.
MARTIN: Let me just jump in.
MEEKS: And that's what this is about.
MARTIN: Last question here. A war powers resolution you introduced last year to try to block military action against Venezuela and these boat strikes in the Caribbean failed narrowly. What sense do you have that this might be more successful?
MEEKS: Well, like I said, I think that every member of Congress wants Congress - the president to come to Congress. Let's have a vote on it. Let's be on the record. And I think it will pass if we get more Republican votes on it.
MARTIN: That is Congressman Gregory Meeks. He's the ranking member on the House - the ranking Democratic member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Congressman Meeks, thank you so much for joining us.
MEEKS: Thank you for having me.
MARTIN: And I do want to note we have asked multiple Republican lawmakers to join us, and those invitations remain open. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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