June 23, 2025 - Trump's War on Iran

Resisting a new Middle East war, added obstacles for the murder budget, unmasking ICE, and more

Contact all members of Congress:

• By phone: (202) 224-3121

• By email: Congress.gov

• By US mail: Representatives / Senators

• By Resistbot: Resist.bot

If you have questions, comments, and especially submissions for actions, please email us at roganslisttips@gmail.com!

TRUMP’S WAR AGAINST IRAN IS ON

On Saturday night, without congressional authorization or much public debate, Donald Trump dragged the United States into war with Iran, bombing three nuclear sites.

The President has claimed these strikes were an “spectacular success,” but his handpicked chairman of the Joint Chiefs has admitted we do not know what they accomplished, and will not for days. Vice-President Vance has insisted we are “not at war with Iran, but with Iran’s nuclear program,” apparently unaware the Iranian government gets a say in the extent of the conflict.

The immediate dangers are significant. 40,000 U.S. troops across the Middle East are at risk in counter-strikes. Iranian leaders are already threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for global oil supplies, which would have massive implications for energy prices and our economy. Experts have also raised concerns about the prospect of terrorism and cyberattacks.

In the long term, we may well have made matters worse. In addition to further destabilizing the region, Trump’s own national intelligence director flatly told Congress earlier this year Iran was not building a nuclear weapon and their dormant program had not been reauthorized. Permanently ending their nuclear ambitions is likely to require an invasion and occupation, and analysts have warned we risk pushing Tehran to rush towards nuclear weapons now to deter future attacks.

Trump has taken us into a war that no one wanted – 60% of Americans have indicated in recent polling the U.S. military should not get involved in this conflict. He has put our young men and women in uniform, our national security and our long-term interests at risk without the nation’s approval. He has done so with zero legal authority, which Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has already suggested is grounds for impeachment, and apparently with minimal thought as to what comes next – the administration is unable to get on the same page about questions as basic as “are we seeking regime change in Iran?”

In a democracy, the people should be able to say no to wars of choice. That’s why Congress has the power to declare war under our Constitution. They need to step in and put a stop to Trump’s rampage before it goes any further:

• Let’s reach out to our members of Congress making our opposition to this new Middle Eastern quagmire loud and clear and demanding their support for war powers resolutions to block further escalation. We can send this message by texting SIGN PBOEUZ to 50409, and find call scripts here.

• We can see where our members of Congress stand on the Iran war powers resolutions at 1833stopwar.com. They also have a petition to sign and will provide a script and connect us directly with our reps if we call 1-833-STOP-WAR (1-833-786-7927).

• Left-wing peace groups are calling for a march on Washington on June 28th. We can find more information here. We can also check local sources, local affiliates of Peace Action, Mobilize, The Big List of Protests, No Voice Unheard and We the People Dissent for updates for protests that will be scheduled throughout the week.

• It’s important that we all speak up using whatever language we’re comfortable with. We can find different sets of language we can use (and different groups who will be organizing against the war here:

  • 50501 call scripts

  • Indivisible call and email tools

  • Just Foreign Policy petition

  • Win Without War petition and email tool

  • Working Families Party petition – they will also connect us with our reps if we text NO WAR to 50403

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SENATE PARLIAMENTARIAN STARTING TO STRIKE AT THE MURDER BUDGET

The Senate parliamentarian is starting to issue advisory rulings on which provisions of the MAGA Murder Budget pass muster for the reconciliation process under the Byrd rule, and the news so far has been promising. While the 10-year ban on state and local regulations of artificial intelligence got the okay with threats to federal broadband expansion funding attached, the parliamentarian has ruled against the judicial power stripping Section 70302, defunding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, gutting vehicle emissions standards, allowing polluters to buy their way out of environmental reviews, and most notably against the GOP’s plan to shift some SNAP costs on to the states. This would be a boon for those receiving food assistance, who would certainly face cuts under this plan, but significantly undermines the “savings” the GOP can claim and further complicates their already narrow path to final passage. They are now faced with dropping these provisions, rewriting them to pass muster… or the dramatic step of ignoring the parliamentarian.

Here's some steps we can take today to keep blocking their way:

• Be sure to call our members of Congress to tell them to reject the ban on AI regulations. We can find a call script from 5Calls here. We can also warn Republicans and remind Democrats that we expect severe consequences if the GOP chooses to defy the parliamentarian’s rulings.

• Encourage other folks to call their members of Congress, too! Along with making personal asks to folks in our lives, MoveOn is running phonebanks into key states during the evening this week we can sign up to join here and the Medicaid Defenders have multiple shifts available over the next few days here.

• Make another round of outreach to local media to encourage them to cover what the budget will mean for real people in our communities. We can use this tool from the National Campaign for Justice or directly contact the news and assignment editors of our regional and local newspapers and TV news affiliates.

• Find more ways to help take down the MAGA Murder Budget here

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DISAPPEARED IN AMERICA PHOTO PETITION THURSDAY

People in our country are being disappeared and thrown into outsourced concentration camps because they have tattoos honoring their parents. Families are being torn apart. Basic protections against tyranny are being ignored. Nothing about this is normal. And we need to do whatever it takes to continue drawing attention to it.

This Thursday, Public Citizen, MoveOn and The Workers Circle are asking folks to show up to courthouses, federal buildings and town squares across America for a photo petition – taking pictures with posters of those who have been disappeared and flooding social media with their stories. Let’s be sure to attend one of the Disappeared in America actions near us.

If we can’t find one in our neighborhood, there is still time to sign up as a host – small groups in more locations are great! More info here.

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SIGN AN OPEN LETTER TO SUPPORT NIH PUBLIC SERVANTS

On June 9, scientists from the National Institutes of Health published the Bethesda Declaration protesting the Trump regime’s attacks on scientific research and funding. The consequences of these cuts will be devastating and long-lasting. Members of the public are welcome to sign on in support of the NIH workers, Nobel laureates, and thousands of scientists who have endorsed the Declaration. Let’s read the Bethesda Declaration, and then let’s add our name to the support letter.

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OPTING OUT OF TRADING IN OUR DATA

Between Trump and Musk, many of us are increasingly looking to reduce the amount of our personal data we are surrendering for free services. A Princeton professor who is a sociologist of science and technology has come up with how-tos on how to live a modern, digitally-connected, twenty-first century life online without Big Tech. Let’s check out this site built off knowledge from over a decade of opting out of data-sucking services here.

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KEEPING AN EYE ON…

• Stop The Money Pipeline campaign kickoff against Wells Fargo tomorrow at 8PM

• #MuskMustFall day of action June 28th