Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 of the Constitution clearly states that only Congress has the power to declare war, but that didn’t stop Senate Republicans from refusing to force Trump to seek Congress’ permission to start a war with Iran.
Senate Democrats were joined by four Republicans on Friday to support an amendment requiring Trump to seek a green light from Congress in order to attack Iran.
Trump has come severely close to dragging America into a war with Iran for weeks, especially last week when he ordered an airstrike against Iran only to cancel it at the last minute. The attack likely would have drawn an immediate retaliatory strike against United States forces in the Middle East and would have drawn us into a conflict similar to the Vietnam War.
Unfortunately, while the measure received 50 votes in favor compared to 40 against, it failed to receive 60 votes to pass, which means it’s nothing more than a symbolic rebuke and Trump can interpret the failed passage as permission to go to war whenever he wants.
Several Senate Democrats reacted to the final vote on Twitter by warning Trump to refrain from attacking Iran until he gets a declaration of war from Congress and vowed to keep pushing the amendment until it gets the required 60 votes.
.@POTUS and the administration should heed the powerful message that the Senate sent today. Neither Congress, nor the American people, support war with Iran.
It’s time to end the saber-rattling and the reckless escalation.
— Tom Udall (@SenatorTomUdall) June 28, 2019
Today, I stood with a majority of my Senate colleagues who voted to uphold the rule of law. The Constitution and the War Powers Act are perfectly clear: President Trump cannot go to war with Iran without congressional authorization. pic.twitter.com/2XnE2eOl3p
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) June 28, 2019
As someone who knows the costs of war, I took to the Senate Floor to remind Trump he does NOT have the authority to declare war without Congress’ approval ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/M5GgBvgjRU
— Tammy Duckworth (@SenDuckworth) June 28, 2019
Today’s vote shows that a bipartisan majority believes President @realDonaldTrump should come to Congress before bogging the country down in an endless war.
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) June 28, 2019
2/ Trump’s strategy of blind escalation with Iran has been a disaster and it’s up to Congress to stop this train wreck before it gets worse. The American people saw what happened in Iraq. They don’t want another forever war.
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) June 28, 2019
3/ With this vote, a majority of the Senate stood up to send a message that the president cannot go to war without a vote in Congress. I’m going to keep fighting like hell to make sure of it.
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) June 28, 2019
Trump is almost certainly going to take advantage of Senate Republicans’ dereliction of duty. He’s already been close to starting a war with Iran, and now he knows Congress won’t stop him if he does. This is a dangerous power to let Trump have and our troops will be paying the price for it. Blood will not only be on Trump’s hands, but on the hands of Senate Republicans as well.
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