WATCH: “Huge Strategic Failure:” Sen. Schiff Blasts Trump’s Blockade of Strait of Hormuz, Reacts to Swalwell Resignation

Schiff: […] "The only takeaway I think the American people can have from this is the economic suffering is going to continue. The president's broken promise about no more regime change wars, his broken promise about focusing solely on bringing down the cost of life for the American people is going to cost our country dearly, and it already is."

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) joined MS NOW's The Briefing with Jen Psaki to react to President Trump's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, calling it an economic weapon that will raise prices back home and risk further escalation.

Schiff also reacted to the resignation of former Representative Eric Swalwell, saying he feels shocked by the revelations while grateful to the survivors for their courage in speaking out.

View the full interview here.

Key Excerpts:

On the administration's brinkmanship with Iran that is driving up costs for Americans:

[…] Trump's war in Iran is really becoming, tragically, a quagmire. We are responding, as the vice president says, with a tit for tat with Iran. They're going to close the strait? Well, two can play at that game, so now we're going to close the strait. How is that going to help the American people? How is that going to help bring down the cost of everything from gas at the pump to the helium that our phones require for their chips that is used in manufacturing processes, the fertilizer our farmers need? The cost of food is going up, all of this because of Trump's war of choice with Iran. And I don't see how this blockade is going to resolve things.

On the risk of escalation in Iran:

[…] China is certainly making noises about its expectation that its shipping is not going to be impacted by the United States and their war of choice with Iran. So, we may get to that kind of game of dangerous chicken. We have already seen countless escalations from this war, with new parties getting into the war, like the Houthis and, of course, the expansion of the war into Lebanon. So we have already seen an escalation. Is it possible it could get worse? It certainly could get worse with other nations brought into it. But it also could flare up again when the president, in a peak of frustration at the fact that it's not going well, lashes out with not just threats about annihilating civilization in Iran, but decides to begin another extensive bombing campaign.

On the courage of Eric Swalwell's accusers in coming forward:

[…]I think there are many people in Congress as shocked as I am. Maybe I'm just not plugged in to what others are, if they've heard more, but I just feel shocked and betrayed and sickened, and I think a sense of grief about all of this. But my paramount feeling is that I'm grateful these women came forward. I'm grateful that they did so, when they did. It prevented our state from making a potentially terrible mistake. And certainly, if I had known what these women have to say, I wouldn't have gone near him with a 10-foot pole, as I said.

###