On Feb. 28, U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., criticized the United States’ “war in Iran” as “illegal” and said it would “put American personnel at risk” during a visit to campus.
At the event, hosted by the Rockefeller Center for Public Policy, Khanna criticized the Trump administration’s foreign policy actions, discussed his efforts to release the Epstein files and shared his perspectives on the economic impacts of artificial intelligence.
The event — which was held in Filene Auditorium and moderated by government professor Brendan Nyhan — was part of the Rockefeller Center’s “Law and Democracy: The United States at 250” event series. Approximately 200 people attended the event, according to Rockefeller Center associate director for public programs and special events Dvora Greenberg Koelling.
Khanna served in the Obama administration as deputy assistant secretary within the Department of Commerce. First elected to Congress in 2016, Khanna represents a district covering much of Silicon Valley. He is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
Speaking just hours after President Donald Trump addressed the nation to discuss the U.S.’ actions in Iran, Khanna said the president had “just launched an illegal, unconstitutional war in Iran.”
“He’s betrayed his fundamental promise to the American people,” Khanna said. “His promise was that we weren’t going to get into more of these overseas wars, that he was going to help focus on building manufacturing here, building jobs here, supporting the needs of healthcare, childcare, education of the American people.”
Khanna added that he thought there were “many other ways” to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, and said that the reason the United States and Israel began the war was to prompt a “regime change” in Iran.
“The history of regime change has not worked,” Khanna said “That’s why [Rep.] Thomas Massie and I have called for a vote on our bipartisan Iran War resolution.”
Yesterday, the House voted 212-219 to reject the resolution “largely along party lines,” according to the Guardian.
Shifting to domestic policy, Khanna described his work with Rep. Massie, R-Ky., on the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which passed in a near unanimous vote — the final tally was 427-1 — in the U.S. House. The act was later passed by the Senate and signed into law by Trump on Nov. 19, requiring the Department of Justice to release all files related to its investigation of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Khanna attributed the passing of the law to “incredibly courageous” survivors who told their stories.
“I believe the American people were horrified,” Khanna said. “We had two press conferences, on the House Capitol steps, with these brave survivors, and that’s what started to move the House.”
On artificial intelligence, Khanna said the United States needs “the most patriotic, largest jobs program … since we’ve had in the New Deal,” to prevent job losses.
“I’m not an AI accelerationist, or an AI doomer, I’m an AI democratist,” he said. “We’ve got to do it in a way that helps working and middle class folks, and not just have all the profits end up in the hands of a few billionaires in my district.”
The event was followed by a brief Q&A with audience members.
When asked by an audience member about his political effectiveness while in the House minority, Khanna said that his approach has always been to “stand up for [his] convictions” without insulting “people’s character and motives.”
“I will never cede my ground on what I believe, but I try not to be gratuitously insulting on social media,” he said. “By doing that, then you can build relationships.”
Khanna added that he’s “tired of a country where friends aren’t talking to each other because of politics.”
Attendee Samay Sahu ’27 said he thought Khanna has “a great vision for the future of the country.”
“I thought it was a great event,” Sahu said. “I was glad to see him share his thoughts and his views with the greater Dartmouth community.”
Attendee Joseph Januszewicz MED’26 said Khanna was “very eloquent” and “intelligent.”
