January 7, 2020 11:00 a.m.  
Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley is blasting the administration regarding the escalating tensions with Iran.
A release from Merkley said national security concerns are spiraling, stemming from “President Trump’s reckless and impulsive actions and statements”.
Merkley said President Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are “either dangerously inept or colossally ignorant, and have done enormous damage to U.S. Security”.
Merkley said the moves by the administration have turned massive demonstrations in Iran against the Iranian government into massive demonstrations against the U.S. He said they have also mobilized the Iraqi parliament to vote to expel the United States forces from Iraq.
His release said the recent actions have given Iran an excuse to cancel the restraints on their nuclear program that Iran had agreed to and followed for four years before “the Trump administration broke the agreement”.
Merkley said U.S. forces and assets in the region are now at greater risk of attack. He said Americans must insist on following the U.S. Constitution which he said gives Congress, not the President, the power to decide to go to war.
Merkley said “now all sane Americans must strive to stop the escalation into war”.