WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), a Combat Veteran and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), issued the following statement after General Qasem Soleimani was killed in a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad:
“I first ran for office to ensure that when the drums of war beat loudly in Washington, I would be able to remind my colleagues in Congress and the White House what the true costs of war actually are—not just in dollars, but in American troops’ lives as well.
There is no question that Iranian Major General Soleimani posed a threat to the free world, but there is also no question that the President—any President—does not have Constitutional authority to draw the United States into a war without prior Congressional approval. This solemn duty is solely for Congress to decide, but the Trump Administration appears to have failed to inform the people’s representatives of his actions and, in doing so, may very well lead us to war.
That’s unacceptable. Donald Trump owes it to our troops and to our Constitution to follow the law, provide the American people the transparency they deserve and ensure Congress is able to perform its Constitutional duties.”
