WASHINGTON, D.C. – Combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)—a member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee—issued the following statement today after voting for an Iran war powers resolution that would force the President to secure a declaration of war or authorization for use of military force from Congress to legally engage in a war against Iran. Senate Republicans blocked the resolution, which failed on a 53-47 vote.
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“Ever since Donald Trump illegally launched a military strike against Iran, one thing has remained clear: our troops are at greater risk today than they were before the attack.
“Our servicemembers will always execute their orders and complete their missions to the highest standard like the experts they are. But rather than declaring ‘mission accomplished,’ the Trump Administration should be focused on protecting them and American personnel in the region and convincing Congress to authorize its use of military force. We’re not sure these strikes actually halted the Iranian program yet, and it is unacceptable that the Administration sought to thwart members of Congress from performing their most solemn Constitutional duty: debating matters of war and peace.”
“If Trump wants to honor our troops, he needs to come before Congress immediately to consult with the democratically elected representatives of our military, their family members and the American citizens before making decisions that risk the lives of our servicemembers, cost billions of taxpayer dollars and threaten to mire us in yet another quagmire in the Middle East. That is one of the reasons why I supported today’s resolution, which would force debate and a vote on whether to engage in acts of war against Iran—as Article I of our Constitution lays out. By blocking this resolution, Senate Republicans are once again making clear they would much rather bow down to Trump than putting our national security and the best interests of our servicemembers first.”
