On Independence Day, veterans warn Congress to protect the Constitution from executive overreach and military politicization

As Americans prepare to celebrate Independence Day, close to 200 veterans from across the country and every branch of service are delivering a critical message to Congress: Serve as a check on executive overreach, preserve civilian oversight of the military, and ensure that our armed forces are never politicized or weakened by administrative mismanagement.

In a new letter spearheaded by Issue One, veterans warn that America’s national security and core democratic institutions are being eroded, not just by foreign adversaries, but by the politicization and mismanagement of the military here at home. They are urging members of Congress to use their constitutional authority to hold oversight hearings into security failures, investigate the decline in military readiness, reverse cuts to the VA, protect military voting rights, and bolster protections for Inspectors General and whistleblowers.

“We have witnessed the erosion of military readiness, the politicization of the chain of command, and reckless decisions that have put our national security and global standing at risk,” the letter states. “From the mishandling of classified communications and breakdowns in secure military protocols — placing the lives of military pilots at risk — to the abandonment of veterans through cuts to federal programs, this administration has repeatedly failed those who serve and those who have served.”

The letter continues: “We are less safe now than we were before — not simply because of our adversaries abroad, but because of the breakdown of responsible leadership at home.”

“This is a clear signal from the veteran community: Constitutional guardrails are being ignored, and the sacred apolitical role of our military is at risk,” said Issue One Vice President of Advocacy Alix Fraser. “Veterans are asking Congress to honor the same oath they once swore. Not to a party or a president, but to the Constitution of the United States.”

This letter is part of Issue One’s broader Check the Exec campaign, which has been leveraging veterans’ voices in support of our constitutional guardrails, including in a recent Issue One ad and opinion pieces authored by local veterans and published by the Anchorage Daily News in Alaska and Bangor Daily News in Maine.

Earlier this year, Issue One published a full-page ad in The Wall Street Journal alongside a bipartisan open letter from over 60 former members of Congress warning that executive power is exceeding constitutional limits. As their letter declared:

“They [the Founders] didn’t want kings. The Constitution places Congress — not the presidency — at the center of our democracy for a reason.”

To learn more and take action, visit www.CheckTheExec.com.