Trump's War with Iran with Rep. Jim McGovern and National Security Analyst Joe Cirincione.
The Bill Press Pod
BP Pods
4.7 • 601 Ratings
🗓️ 3 March 2026
⏱️ 38 minutes
🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS
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Summary
The U.S. is now at war in Iran after Donald Trump launched strikes without Congressional authorization, despite campaigning against regime change and new wars. Rep. Jim McGovern (D) Massachusetts, argues there is no justification or clearly defined mission, warns of quagmire-like consequences, rising costs, and criticizes Republicans and House leadership for blocking debate and ignoring Congress’s constitutional role and the War Powers Act, citing prior votes tied to Venezuela. National security analyst Joe Cirincione says the administration’s claims of an imminent threat collapsed, asserting Iran lacks missiles to reach the U.S. and is not close to a nuclear weapon; he frames the conflict as a regime-change war pushed by Israel and Saudi Arabia, worsened by Trump’s exit from the 2015 nuclear deal and bad-faith negotiations. They discuss risks including wider regional escalation, oil shocks, global recession, and damaged U.S. credibility.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, good friends. Well, we begin this podcast with a grim reminder that we are now a nation at war. |
| 0:13.5 | Yes, the man who campaigned as a self-described candidate of peace, the man who said regime change is a proven absolute failure, has now engaged |
| 0:24.3 | in regime change in two countries, Venezuela and Iran, and suggested Cuba could be next. |
| 0:31.1 | And the man who promised to start no new wars has started a new war in Iran. It's not a war authorized by Congress. |
| 0:40.3 | Congress wasn't even consulted beforehand. |
| 0:43.3 | It's not a war to protect the United States. |
| 0:45.3 | In no way did Iran ever pose a threat to America, |
| 0:49.3 | nor have any weapons capable of reaching this country. |
| 0:53.3 | It's not a necessary war. Iran was, in fact, |
| 0:57.8 | engaged in what were described by the administration as positive negotiations with the United |
| 1:02.8 | States to curtail or end its nuclear development up to 12 hours before Donald Trump started bombing the hell out of Iran. |
| 1:13.2 | It is a war of choice, Donald Trump's war of choice, with no idea how long it will last, |
| 1:20.5 | how many more countries might get involved, how many more American lives will be lost, |
| 1:25.1 | or how it will all end. So for a look at possible consequences of |
| 1:30.2 | Trump's war, we turn first today to a member of Congress, Representative Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, |
| 1:36.9 | who's been leading the charge in Congress, first in Venezuela and now in Iran, for Congress to |
| 1:43.5 | enforce the War Powers Act. |
| 1:46.3 | Congressman McGovern, it's an honor to have you on the bill press pod. Thank you so much for |
| 1:50.4 | joining us. I'm happy to be with you. Thank you so much. Yes. So let's just jump right in, |
| 1:56.0 | Congressman. Is there any justification that you see for Donald Trump's war in Iran? |
| 2:03.0 | I don't believe there is. |
| 2:04.6 | Again, I thought he was engaged in negotiations with Iran. |
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