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RELEASE: Rep. Ro Khanna Urges Responsible Approach to North Korea

August 10, 2017

More than 60 members of Congress send letter to State Department on the issue

Washington, DC – Rep. Ro Khanna (CA-17) is among the 64 members of the House of Representatives, who sent a letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson renouncing President Trump's irresponsible approach with North Korea. The letter is a follow-up to one sent to President Trump in May.

"Now is the not the time to encourage North Korea to make additional threats," said Rep. Khanna. "More than 60 members of the House recognize that we need assured leadership in regards to the situation with North Korea and urge the State Department to choose diplomacy over a show of force."

In the letter to Secretary of State Tillerson, the members of Congress write, in regards to the president's remarks on Tuesday:

We write to express our profound concern over the statements made by President Trump that dramatically increased tensions with North Korea and raised the specter of nuclear war. These statements are irresponsible and dangerous, and also senselessly provide a boon to domestic North Korean propaganda which has long sought to portray the United States as a threat to their people.

Accordingly, we respectfully but firmly urge you to do everything in your power to ensure that President Trump and other Administration officials understand the importance of speaking and acting with the utmost caution and restraint on this delicate issue. Congress and the American public will hold President Trump responsible if a careless or ill-advised miscalculation results in conflict that endangers our service members and regional allies. To allay these concerns, the Trump Administration should publicly declare its agreement with the constitutional requirement that any preemptive attack on North Korea must be debated and authorized by Congress.

Read the letter to Secretary Tillerson here.

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About the Office

Congressman Khanna represents the 17th District of California, which covers communities in Silicon Valley. Visit his website at khanna.house.gov. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter @RepRoKhanna.

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