Watch: Attacking Trump's "Illegal War," Salud Calls Out GOP Colleagues for "Abdication" of Congressional Power

In wide-ranging interview, the five-term SB Democrat distances himself from Swalwell, forecasts a mid-term wave election, and waffles on debating Republican challenger in the fall.

In an interview from Washington, Rep. Salud Carbajal assailed Donald Trump’s military action in Iran as “an illegal war” that puts American lives at risk and shatters U.S. alliances abroad, while fueling inflation and high gas prices at home.

Previewing Democratic messaging for the midterm elections, the five-term congressman from Santa Barbara on Wednesday described Trump variously as “unhinged,” “bonkers,” and afflicted by “dementia” as he called for administration officials to remove the president via the 25th Amendment. Carbajal also harshly criticized Republican House and Senate members for “abdicating” their constitutional power to decide whether to put the nation at war.

“Clearly this is an illegal, unsanctioned war that is costing us $1 billion a day,” he told Newsmakers. “This president is unhinged, and regrettably my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are letting him run amok.”

While offering his most extensive comments to date on the war, Trump’s proposed military budget and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Carbajal also discussed state and local policy and political matters, from the controversy over Sable Offshore Corp. oil operations, to his disgraced House colleague Eric Swalwell, and his own re-election race.

Carbajal, who faces three underfunded challengers, reported $3.2 million cash on hand in his latest filing with the Federal Election Commission; in our interview, he said Democrats are poised to take control of the House in the November elections and that a political “wave is coming” that could be large enough to flip the Senate as well.

He also bristled at recent criticism of him by one challenger, Republican rival Bob Smith, and refused to commit to a debate before the November run-off election.

“I’m not going to give Mr. Smith a forum where he can spew lies,” Carbajal said. “I will give it consideration, as I always have, but if Mr. Smith keeps doubling down on lies, I’m not going to give him a platform to continue doing that. I think debating him would only give him that forum.”

Excerpts from the interview:

On Iran. On a day when 10,000 additional U.S. troops were dispatched to the region, Carbajal termed Trump’s military action “a war of choice,” and complained that, “This guy has not put forth any credible plan, rhyme, or reason for doing what he did.”

“He’s been all over the map and has given 17 different reasons for the war. He hasn’t put forward a plan. All he did was go in, create chaos, make assumptions, and give the American people falsehoods. And now he’s dealing with the implications of that — including 13 service members dead, over 290 wounded, skyrocketing gas prices, and an exacerbated affordability crisis. That’s what this guy has done.”

On congressional Republicans. “They have been bending over backwards to support this president, not to call him on the carpet, not to stop his derelict and reprehensible behavior — often illegal things he’s done.”

“Congress is the only body that can authorize a war,” he said. “And clearly this Republican Congress has abdicated its proper responsibility of putting checks and balances on this president.”

On Israel leading Trump into war. “This president is easily manipulated, and certainly previous presidents have never agreed to take this approach — especially in this reckless way. He didn’t even give consideration to how the Strait of Hormuz would be impacted. He didn’t bring our allies along. He didn’t bring the American people along. This has just been chaos unfolding before our eyes.”

On Defense spending. Carbajal emphasized that he would not support the $1.5 trillion Department of Defense budget proposed by Trump. “Nobody in their right mind is going to vote for that — it’s ridiculous, and he’s proposing to cut domestic programs across the board: healthcare, research, education, transportation.” He also expressed strong opposition to a $200 billion supplemental budget request earmarked for the Iran war: “I’m voting against that yesterday, today, and tomorrow.”

On Eric Swalwell. Amid the sexual assault and harassment scandal that forced fellow California Democrat Eric Swalwell from office and to quit his campaign for governor, Carbajal said, “I didn’t know him very well” and had socialized with the congressman “maybe one time in the nine years I’ve been here.” While calling Swalwell’s conduct “reprehensible” and possibly illegal, Carbajal tap danced on whether he would support a Republican-led effort to revoke Swalwell’s government pension.

On the governor’s race. In the wake of Swalwell’s withdrawal, Carbajal underscored his earlier endorsement of former state Attorney General Xavier Becerra, a longtime ally and mentor: “Over the past three days, it’s my understanding that his star has risen and is rising. So he’s certainly amongst the individuals that are peaking towards the top…he’s certainly somebody who’s very well qualified.”

On offshore oil. As Sable Offshore has resumed pumping oil through a disputed pipeline, Carbajal said he is “hopeful and optimistic” that a lawsuit filed by the state attorney general — along with other administrative and local legal action — will halt operations that were approved by the White House. He offered no new legislative approaches for stopping the company.

On Re-election. Carbajal pushed back against comments made by Smith, the sole Republican among three challengers running for his seat in the June primary; the top two finishers advance to the November general election.

Smith recently called Carbajal “the most invisible congressman in the history of Congress.” After initially saying he would “not dignify Mr. Smith’s comments,” Carbajal defended his policy record and called the critique “ludicrous.”

“Anytime you run for this office, you can expect people to lie, distort, and exaggerate, because they’re desperate — they want attention,” the incumbent said.

He refused to pledge he would debate Smith if the Republican advances to the runoff, suggesting he would not.

“Mr. Smith needs to just be honest with the public and stick to facts,” Carbajal said.

Smith responds. Smith’s FEC report shows that he’s collected $164,000 for his campaign, including a $20,000 personal loan, and had $56,100 cash on hand as of March 31.

In response to Carbajal’s comments, Smith described the incumbent as a political mediocrity who is “a likable guy” who has not delivered “results.”

“After five terms, he is not a ranking member on a full committee or on any Appropriations, none of his sponsored bills have passed both houses, aside from one that dedicated a post office,” Smith said, adding that, “It feels like someone who is along for the ride until a maxed-out pension. Either get in the starting lineup as a senior congressman or step aside for more capable leadership.”

He also portrayed Carbajal’s position on debating him as hypocritical: “The same person who participates in protests about defending democracy now suggests he should not have to debate his fact-checked record to voters,” Smith said.

Check out our complete interview with Salud Carbajal via YouTube below or by clicking through this link. Our podcast is available on Apple, Spotify, or on SoundCloud here. TVSB, Channel 17, airs the show every weeknight at 5 p.m. and at 9 a.m. on weekends. KCSB, 91.9 FM, broadcasts the program at 5:30 p.m. on weekends.