Chairman Aguilar: Nearly a year after Donald Trump and Republicans came into power, America is less safe and more expensive.

Chairman Aguilar: Nearly a year after Donald Trump and Republicans came into power, America is less safe and more expensive.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, Vice Chair Ted Lieu and Democratic Caucus National Security Task Force Co-Chairs Jason Crow, Maggie Goodlander and Derek Tran held a press conference on how while Donald Trump and Republicans are more focused on running other countries, Democrats are focused on delivering lower costs for Americans here at home. You can watch the full press conference here and read the transcript below.

CHAIRMAN AGUILAR: Good morning. I'm pleased to be joined, as always, with Vice Chair Ted Lieu and Democratic National Security Task Force Co-Chairs, Representatives Jason Crow, Maggie Goodlander and Derek Tran. Nearly a year after Donald Trump and Republicans came into power, America is less safe and more expensive. While working families across the country struggle to put food on the table and afford health care, Trump is more concerned with inflaming tensions both at home and abroad. The question that Americans continue to ask is: How does intervening in foreign countries, threatening military action on NATO allies or lying about the shooting of an American citizen in Minnesota do anything to bring down costs? It's clear that Donald Trump is unserious about strengthening our economy or making life more affordable for the American people.

Meanwhile, Democrats are laser-focused on delivering real results for hardworking families here in the United States-and we aren't letting being in the minority stop us. Under Leader Jeffries' leadership, House Democrats have been able to use the few tools that we have at our disposal to take meaningful legislative action. In 2025, Democrats successfully moved three discharge petitions forward on restoring the federal collective bargaining rights, releasing the Epstein files and extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits.

Let's just stop for a minute and recognize the significance of what that meant for millions of families. But while we continue to get questions about compromises and coming off of the three years that we asked for, Democratic leadership, and Leader Jeffries, decided that we would push this proposal for a three-year clean extension-and we passed it with strong bipartisan support. People said it couldn't be done, but after months of sounding that alarm, we delivered bipartisan solutions to the House to keep insurance affordable. This won't be the last time that Democrats will work to break through the partisan divide to deliver for our constituents. Now, it's up to Leader Thune to join Democrats in sending this legislation to the President's desk, so millions of Americans can afford health care in 2026. Next up, Vice Chair Ted Lieu.

VICE CHAIR LIEU: Thank you, Chairman Aguilar. My prayers go out to Renee Good and to her family and friends. She was a U.S. citizen, a Christian and a mother of three. This tragedy was completely preventable. I ask the federal government to cooperate with local and state officials who are doing investigations. We need to have fair and transparent investigations, and when federal officials do not cooperate with state and local officials in the investigation, it leads the American people to think: What are you hiding? Are you covering something up? So, for full transparency, we need everyone to cooperate to get to the bottom of what happened. I also ask ICE leaders and the administration to tone down the rhetoric. ICE Commander Greg Bovino last night made a post that essentially called protesters, 'cannon fodder.' He needs to delete that post and he needs to resign. The American people are not 'cannon fodder.' We have an absolute First Amendment right to witness what ICE is doing publicly, to film what ICE is doing publicly and to photograph what ICE is doing publicly. We are protected by the Constitution, and if Greg Bovino and the administration don't tone down the rhetoric, it's going to cause more people to get killed.

Now, I'd like to talk about Venezuela. Donald Trump posted that he is the 'Acting President of Venezuela.' Now I'll tell you what a great job the 'Acting President of Venezuela' is doing, because the U.S. Embassy this weekend literally sent out a warning notice asking all Americans to evacuate immediately, because the United States government cannot keep Americans safe in Venezuela. There are roaming militias going around trying to find U.S. citizens. And the reason that the 'Acting President of Venezuela,' Donald Trump, sucks at running Venezuela is because he sucks at running the United States of America. Health care costs are skyrocketing, food prices are increasing and we have energy prices, like electricity, surging in many places. We ask Donald Trump to be the President of America, not the President of Venezuela.

I'm honored today that we are joined by amazing veterans. I happen to be a veteran myself. We've got Derek Tran, Maggie Goodlander and Jason Crow. I'm honored to introduce Jason Crow, who, prior to Congress, already served America in so many ways as a combat veteran, earning many recognitions, including the Bronze Star. He's a great Representative from Colorado, Jason.

REP. CROW: Thank you, Ted. As a three-time combat veteran, I get pretty damn hot when a five-time draft dodger like Donald Trump pounds his chest and bangs the war drums in Washington, talking about sending boots on the ground. We're not even a year into this administration, and President Trump has bombed seven countries. He doesn't seem to see a problem that he doesn't think he can bomb his way out of. I learned years ago that when elites like Donald Trump bang the war drums and pound their chests in Washington, D.C. and talk about sending troops into the ground or into combat, he's not talking about his kids. He's not talking about all of his minions' kids. He's talking about kids like me and the people that I grew up with in working-class areas, rural places around the country that have to pick up rifles, jump in the tanks or helicopters and do the thing. And do the tough work. Well, America is over it. America is over the $3 trillion we've spent. The quagmires of failed nation-building. The sending of our sons and daughters and brothers and sisters to enrich oil executives. America is over endless adventurism and using our military. Because they want their infrastructure rebuilt, they want quality, affordable health care, they want to be able to afford groceries, they want to be able to afford a home and they want to be able to send their kids to school. Those are the things that we are relentlessly focused on as a Democratic Caucus.

Now, don't get me wrong: there is a time for strength, there is a time for standing by our allies and there are certainly times when our military has to go to keep us safe. But what have we accomplished in Venezuela? The Maduro regime remains intact. Sitting here today, two weeks after this mission, the Venezuelan people are under more oppression than they were before, because of the crackdowns. Americans are at greater risk. The cartels are running rampant and free with no crackdown whatsoever. And the drugs that actually are killing our children, fentanyl and meth, don't even come from Venezuela. They come from other countries. So, I want to know how many billions of dollars this administration has spent to remove somebody that Donald Trump simply does not like, and put in another dictator that he thinks will do his bidding. I want to know, and the American taxpayers deserve to know, how much time and money have been spent on their behalf. America is over it. We're going to push for War Powers Reform. We're going to reassert our constitutional authority, because it is not just our right, it is our duty to stand in the breach and take the votes and tell any President, Republican or Democrat, that you can't continue to send our men and women around the world into harm's way without a debate and vote in this body. So with that, it is my pleasure to introduce one of our most stellar Members, a Navy veteran, close personal friend and a servant leader from the state of New Hampshire, Maggie Goodlander.

REP. GOODLANDER: Thank you, Congressman Crow. Thank you, Chairman Aguilar, Vice Chair Lieu. My grandfather used to talk about the Six P's: Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance. Those are important. I think what brings us here today are the Three C's: the Constitution, Common sense and Costs. The Constitution is the document that binds us across generations as Americans. It is a document that contains our highest ideals, but at bottom, it's a job description. And one thing that's crystal clear is that under our Constitution, it is Congress, not the President, not the Department of Justice, not the Department of Defense-and it is the Department of Defense because Congress has not changed the name of that department-it is Congress, crystal clear, that has the sacred responsibility to declare war. We have a bipartisan War Powers Resolution, and we saw five Republicans join together with Democrats in the Senate to speak with one voice and to say that if the President wants to go to war in Venezuela, he's got to come to the Congress first and get authorization. It is a simple statement rooted in our Constitution. There's a lot of common sense in this, because the costs of war, in the trillions of dollars that we've spent in our lifetimes alone, in the tens of thousands of lives that have been forever changed, the thousands of lives lost, these are the most consequential decisions that a government can make. And common sense is not something that the President has supplied to the American people. Nothing undermines public trust more than an inability to answer the basic question: Why would we go to war in Venezuela? What is this going to accomplish for the American people? Well look, we know that replacing one thug with another is not a good reason to go to war. There's no common sense in that, and the President has got to answer questions. As members of the Armed Services Committee, we will be relentless in seeking answers to the basic questions that the American people deserve.

At the end of the day, the costs that we are asking the American people to bear in the middle of the most acute affordability crisis in generations are something that every person who has taken an oath to our Constitution has got to account for. I was talking to a veteran in my hometown just a few days ago. You know, budgets are a statement of principles, and families across this country are feeling the squeeze and the pain of an affordability crisis like never before. People who have put their lives on the line and served our country are having to make some of the most painful choices you could ever imagine a person having to make. The choice of whether to pay rent or to keep a car, the choice of which medical appointments this amazing veteran who served our country is going to be able to actually afford in the year ahead. This is just not right. It is dead wrong. And we are here to speak with one voice, to say to our Republican colleagues: we urge you to join us. To the Speaker, he should bring our bipartisan War Powers Resolution to a vote as soon as possible, because every member of this body should have to take a vote on this most consequential decision. Life or death decisions that forever change the course of our history. So, I'm grateful to be standing alongside you today, and I'm proud to turn it over to my friend and colleague, whom I'm delighted to be leading this task force alongside together with Congressman Crow, Congressman Derek Tran.

REP. TRAN: Good morning. I want to thank Chair Aguilar and Vice Chair Lieu for gathering us for this important discussion that we're having. I'm Representative Derek Tran, I'm an Army veteran and I am a proud Co-Chair of the House Democratic National Security Task Force. Most importantly, though, I represent the people of Orange and L.A. counties in California's 45th District. In the 10 days since President Trump took unilateral military action in Venezuela without consulting Congress, we have been left with more questions than answers. What does this mean for our troops at home and abroad? Can we maintain the international alliances that help keep our service members safe? Is the Trump Administration more concerned with the needs of oil companies than the American people? Look, when I enlisted in the Army Reserve when I was 18 years old, I did so because I'm a proud American. When my President sends my brothers and sisters into harm's way, we have to trust that he's acting in the best interest of the American people-not for oil profits, not for big donors, not for the next election.

What families in my district are begging for is relief at the grocery store. They need child care that doesn't break the bank. They are begging for houses that they can afford and health care that does not drain their life savings. The people on this stage are ready to get to work. House Democrats are ready to get to work. We're not going to stand for another costly forever war while our constituents struggle to pay their bills. Thank you so much. I yield to the Chairman for questions.

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