We are deeply alarmed by President Donald Trump’s authoritarian moves this week to deploy troops into Washington, D.C. and seize control of the district’s police.
This is unprecedented, unnecessary, undemocratic, and unjustifiable.
As an organization based in D.C., we reject President Trump’s offensive and baseless lies about the vibrant communities here that many of our staff love and belong to.
This moment is a reminder of the urgent need for statehood for the more than 700,000 district residents who have been denied representation for too long.
This move is also part of a broader, disturbing pattern of authoritarianism and militarism that we have seen from this administration.
Here at home, we’ve seen tanks in our streets and masked ICE agents carrying out war-like raids on our communities. When people in Los Angeles protested these raids, President Trump deployed troops to suppress them.
Now, as D.C. is placed under military occupation, the administration is threatening to do the same in Chicago, San Francisco, and New York.
“To our dismay, this is America 2025,” FCNL’s Bridget Moix wrote in RNS in last month. “Due process, rule of law and core principles of our democracy are all being swept aside in a systematic shift toward authoritarianism and rule by fear and force.”
We have also seen this disturbing shift toward militarism in our foreign policy. The administration and Congress have turned ploughshares into swords, dismantling diplomacy, international aid, and peacebuilding programs while bloating annual military spending to more than $1 trillion.
The administration has continued to arm the Israeli government’s genocidal assault on Gaza. It has bombed Yemen, surged U.S. strikes in Somalia, and waged war on Iran.
Now, President Trump has also approved plans to illegally use U.S. military force against cartels in Latin America without Congressional authorization.
As we have long said, war is not the answer. We must continue to oppose it – both at home and abroad –and advocate for real solutions that foster peace, prosperity, and dignity for all.
Elsewhere
Pressure Grows for Aid to Gaza and Permanent Peace
Israel continues to face mounting pressure to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza. Palestinians are facing famine and people are starving to death as hundreds of civilians are shot and killed by the Israeli military trying to access food aid. Civil society is speaking up and international condemnation is growing. Germany halted arms deliveries to Israel, Norway’s sovereign wealth fund has divested, and leaders from France, Australia, and China are speaking out forcefully against the mass starvation of civilians.
Pressure is also growing inside Israel. Hundreds of retired Israeli security officials urged President Trump to pressure the Israeli government into ending the war in Gaza. Retired Israeli pilots protested the war outside of the Israeli military’s headquarters. A group of high-profile Israeli public figures have called for “crippling sanctions” to be imposed by the international community on Israel.
Trump-Putin Summit Must Address Nukes
President Trump and President Vladimir Putin of Russia are meeting in Alaska today. Although the meeting is focused on the Russia-Ukraine war, it also provides a crucial opportunity to address nuclear arms control. Since the New START Treaty is set to expire in February, the safety of the world demands immediate action.
Senator Condemns Sending Immigrants to be Tortured
For months, the Trump administration has been forcibly sending immigrants to countries they are not from. Once there, their human rights have been violated, and they have been tortured. This happened in El Salvador and may be continuing as people are sent to South Sudan and other countries. Senator Tim Kaine (VA) introduced legislation to condemn this practice and demand that the United States not support torture.
Advocates Speak Out during August Recess
FCNL advocates have carried out 25 lobby and drop-by visits so far during the August congressional recess. We still have two weeks to go: help us keep up the momentum to protect critical funding for peace and to protect refugees!
