I am sure the gentleman will. I thank the gentleman very much. Mr. Speaker, I am really torn. I want to continue discussing the legislation that is out there, but I really stand in front of this Chamber--which at the moment is empty--with a very, very heavy heart and extraordinary concern. I am looking at where we are as a nation this evening, and I am going to really ponder tomorrow what fate may behold our men and women in the military. A couple of hours ago the inevitable happened. I think I was a freshman in high school and my science teacher was trying to give me some of the principles of physics. He was talking about for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. He was showing various examples of that and, of course, I was then playing football and I could really understand. I hit somebody, and they would hit me back; or I would push somebody and they would push back. I would like to think that I was more than equal. Last Friday, our President took an action and launched missiles at the highest commander of the Iranian military and killed him, along with one of the major, if not the major commander of the militia units in Iraq. That attack took place just outside the Baghdad International Airport. That was an action, presumably, to prevent some future action that might be taken by the Iranians and by their leader or directed by their leader, Soleimani. My high school science teacher could not have been more correct.…
John Garamendi: “I am sure the gentleman will. I thank the gentleman very much. Mr. Speaker, I am really torn. I want to continue…”
On the recordJanuary 7, 2020
Share
More from John Garamendi
Jun 8, 2026
“Every year, I have the privilege of nominating such a highly qualified cohort of high school students from the district to our nation’s prestigious service academies,”
Jun 25, 2026
With House passage of this important legislation, the HOME Investment Partnerships Program will, for the first time since 1994, be modernized and brought into the 21st century.
Jun 11, 2026
We urge you to pause and consider the long-term legal and financial ramifications of collaborating with the Trump administration to circumvent California law.
Jun 18, 2026
Given the tremendous potential costs of a Golden Dome system, and the fallacy that it could shield the United States from a significant missile attack, the American people deserve answers.





