A candidate from Philadelphia, running in America’s 250th year, has a plan to restore checks and balances on kingly presidents and renew the constitutional authority of Congress.
Chris Rabb speaks outside of the Pennsylvania Capitol in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on February 5, 2025.
(Paul Weaver / Sipa USA via AP)
Donald Trump’s particular brand of imperialism, which has broken old alliances and unleashed new chaos around the world, is not merely the manifestation of one man’s hubris. It is the result of a disregard for the US Constitution by the elected representatives who should be its stewards. Of all the failures of Congress—and they are many—none is more consequential than the choice of the leaders of both parties, over successive presidencies, to surrender the authority the Constitution gives legislators in the House and Senate to decide whether the United States goes to war.
Chris Rabb knows this, and he incorporates this knowledge into a worldview, and a platform, that makes him one of the most compelling candidates for Congress in 2026. The boldly progressive Pennsylvania state representative is mounting a primary campaign for an open seat representing much of Philadelphia—the place where the framers of the US Constitution outlined a system of checks and balances with a strong Congress and a constrained executive branch at its heart.
Unlike most candidates—be they Democrats or Republicans—Rabb recognizes the vital importance of renewing the promise of an American experiment that has been derailed not just by Trump but by spineless members of what is supposed to be the people’s house. He speaks about the need to address “the devastation of our collapsing democracy” with sweeping reforms that address both a failed presidency and a system that has failed to deliver for the people of Philadelphia.
The winner of the May 19 Democratic primary in what is often referred to as “the bluest district in America” will almost certainly go to Congress. And if Rabb prevails, he will enter the House as an engaged and experienced progressive with a vision for renewing the intended role of Congress as a counterweight to the warmaking of increasingly imperial presidents. With a clarity that is rare in contemporary politics, he pledges to fight for “real oversight that stops Trump’s dangerous wars and U.S. support for the genocide in Gaza.”
That’s one of the many reasons why Rabb has been endorsed by the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC, Justice Democrats, the Working Families Party, the Sunrise Movement, the Jane Fonda Climate PAC, Peace Action, Jewish Voice for Peace and Philadelphia Democratic Socialists of America, US Representatives Ro Khanna and Summer Lee, and Philadelphia progressives such as state Senator Nikil Saval and City Council member Kendra Brooks. On Friday, US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) will headline a Philadelphia rally for Rabb. And, with the approach of the hotly contested primary, The Philadelphia Inquirer joined the list of Rabb endorsers, specifically citing his opposition to the Iran War and arguing that “Rabb has the fire, passion, and conviction people are looking for in the current political climate.”
Rabb is in a tight contest against opponents with substantial resources, close ties to powerful figures in the city’s Democratic machinery, and support from outside donors and interest groups. Referring to one of Rabb’s chief rivals, Drop Site, featured an April 23 headline that claimed, “Despite Denials, AIPAC Is Now Funding Campaign of Ala Stanford in Philadelphia.” Stanford and her supporters have continued to dispute the assertion.
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Rabb, an outspoken supporter of Palestinian rights, and Stanford have clashed during the campaign over questions related to the Israeli assault on Gaza, which World Health Organization data indicates has killed 72,737 Palestinians since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack. The Inquirer reports, “Stanford has refused to call Israel’s military operation and bombing campaign in Gaza a ‘genocide,’” while noting that Rabb “has excoriated his opponents for refusing to use the word genocide, saying Wednesday during a debate: ‘If you can’t name the beast, you can’t kill it, and that’s injustice.’”
The Inquirer asserts that “it is the wars in the Middle East that have thus far defined the race to replace outgoing U.S. Representative Dwight Evans in Pennsylvania’s 3rd Congressional District.” (Evans has endorsed Stanford, while centrist Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, who has been critical of pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses, is reportedly working behind the scenes to undermine Rabb’s candidacy—with Axios writing that “Shapiro is quietly trying to derail a left-wing congressional candidate championed by New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.”)
But Rabb is not merely raising objections to AIPAC and to Trump’s disastrous war with Iran. He is challenging the entire approach that both major parties have taken regarding wars in particular and foreign policy in general. “Every President in modern history has avoided Congressional oversight while conducting bombing campaigns and military expeditions abroad,” his platform explains. “Congress is supposed to act as a check and balance on presidential war-making authority, but it has failed to live up to its responsibility year after year. We must immediately reduce the US military footprint abroad and invest in addressing the root causes of systemic violence across the world.”
Proposing “Peace as a Policy,” the platform argues for:
• An End to Regime Change
• Free Assembly and Self-Determination for Palestine
• Immediate and Permanent Ceasefire Between Israel
and Palestine Including Release of People Held Without
Due Process
• Palestinian Right of Return Under International Law
• Unrestricted Humanitarian Aid in Gaza
• End Economic Support for Fascists Abroad
• A New War Powers Act
• No More Funding for Violations of International and U.S. Law
• Ending the Embargo on Cuba
“American leadership for too long has been defined by the violent impact we have on other nations,” is Rabb’s message. “We must immediately dismantle the military industrial complex, cease all imperialist foreign policy, and end all U.S. led efforts for regime-change.”
From illegal war on Iran to an inhumane fuel blockade of Cuba, from AI weapons to crypto corruption, this is a time of staggering chaos, cruelty, and violence.
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