“I am deeply concerned by President Trump’s announcement today that he intends to withdraw the United States from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty unilaterally.  Even though Russia has recently been in clear violation of provisions of that treaty, President Vladimir Putin would like nothing more than for our country to scrap the treaty altogether, giving him cover to pursue even more aggressive development of nuclear-armed missile systems. This decision by President Trump comes after he called America’s intelligence services ‘naïve’ and dismissed their assessments of the growing threat from North Korea’s nuclear arsenal.       “I am also concerned that the President once again is proceeding without coordination with our European allies.  We need a nonproliferation strategy that brings together diplomatic and military objectives and that the Administration executes in concert with our partners.  Americans ought to be seriously alarmed at this president’s feckless approach to our most dangerous adversaries and Vladimir Putin’s seeming ability to get this Administration to do his bidding.  The Congress must use its proper oversight responsibilities to hold this Administration accountable and ensure that it is protecting the security and interests of the United States, which is what the Democratic-led House will do.”