Kiggans won’t stand up for the military

Jen Kiggans, who represents the 2nd Congressional District, always touts the fact that she’s a mother, Navy veteran, and member of the House Armed Services and Veterans Affairs Committees. She insists a big part of her job as a Congresswomen is to champion those who have served in the military.

Unfortunately, however, she’s been cowardly and silent as the Trump Administration, including the Department of Defense under the grossly incompetent Pete Hegseth, has consistently made unethical, illegal, and dangerous decisions that harm the military.

For example, Kiggans characterized as “fake news” — the typical MAGA response to any criticism of the Trump Administration — well-documented reports about the deplorable conditions on the USS Abraham Lincoln. Thus, Kiggans blows off the worries of about 200 Lincoln family members regarding the mental health of the ship’s crew, including suicide attempts by jumping overboard, during its extraordinarily lengthy deployment to support the war against Iran.

Did Kiggans respond to that situation by insisting on better shipboard conditions and an investigation of that situation? No, she has exonerated Trump and this his administration’s conduct.

Kiggans has done the same on other occasions:

When the U.S. launched an illegal and unnecessary war against Iran without mandatory congressional approval. Indeed, she has repeatedly voted against a war powers resolution that would limit Trump’s ability to wage war without obtaining Congress’s consent.
When our military, relying on outdated intelligence, destroyed an elementary school in Iran, killing 150 people, including 120 children.
When the U.S. launched an illegal and unauthorized invasion of Venezuela.
When the Pentagon asked for an astronomical $1.5 trillion in defense spending during 2027 (a 45% increase from 2026) driving our national debt to a record $40 trillion. She voted for that appropriation, even though her website claims she’s committed to “reduce executive branch overspending.”
When Trump referred to fallen U.S. service members as “suckers” and “losers.”
When Hegseth fired and denied promotions for highly qualified women and minority flag officers and others who have disapproved of Trump’s obviously unlawful conduct.

Those are just a small sampling of the times that Kiggans has refused to speak out against this rogue administration, which has acted contrary to the best interests of the military and its members. As a former Marine who, unlike Trump, served during the Vietnam War, I consider her actions to be those of a craven coward who won’t stand up for what’s right.

But we can do something about that on Nov. 3: Vote for Elaine Luria, a veteran who was deployed overseas multiple times during her 20-year Navy career and has always acted courageously by doing the right thing — even when it may not have been popular.

I urge voters to visit Luria’s website and Facebook page to see where she stands on issues.