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Thread: 5 GOP Senators To Defy Trump On Iran War Powers

  1. #1

    5 GOP Senators To Defy Trump On Iran War Powers

    VOTE on this is SOON. Contact your senator!

    Democrats picked up another GOP vote ahead of a showdown on President Trump's ability to take military action against Iran without congressional signoff.

    Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) said on Tuesday that he will support a resolution spearheaded by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) that will get a vote later this week.

    “The Constitution, in Article I, provides Congress the power to declare war – a responsibility I take seriously," Moran said in a statement. "The prospect of military action against Iran has consequences that ought to be considered by the full Congress, on behalf of the people it represents."

    "In supporting the War Powers Resolution, I respect the President’s obligation to defend against imminent threats while making sure any additional action is properly debated and approved by Congress as required by the Constitution," he added.

    Moran is the fifth GOP senator to say they will vote for the resolution, which needs only a simple majority to pass. GOP Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Mike Lee (Utah), Rand Paul (Ky.) and Todd Young (Ind.) are also expected to support it.

    The resolution would require Trump to remove U.S. troops "engaged in hostilities" against Iran unless Congress signs off with a declaration of war or a specific authorization for use of military force.

    Democrats said they would force the vote after Trump launched an airstrike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, which sparked a quick escalation of tensions between Iran and the United States. Moran noted in his statement that he believed Trump "was justified in his decision to remove Soleimani from the battlefield."

    Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) urged senators to oppose the resolution, calling it "blunt and clumsy" and arguing that it would "severely limit the U.S. military's operational flexibility to defend itself against threats posed by Iran."

    But Sen. John Thune (S.D.), the No. 2 Senate Republican, said there was a "universe" of Republicans who could support the resolution that would be more than four but far less than the 20 that would ultimately be needed to override a veto.

    "We've got members who want to see a new [authorization for use of military force] for anything that we do abroad. And then we've got other members who, like I said, think that constitutionally Congress needs to claw back some … of the powers we've given to the executive," Thune said.

    Because Democrats are forcing the vote under the War Powers Act, they only need a simple majority for it to pass. With every Democrat expected to support it, it is expected to pass the Senate on Thursday. If the resolution reaches Trump's desk, he is all but guaranteed to veto it, and the Senate is not expected to be able to override the veto.

    Kaine estimated that in addition to the GOP senators who were already on board with the resolution, roughly an additional five to seven could be viewed as potential "yes" votes on his resolution.

    Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said on Tuesday that she has not made a decision on how she will vote.

    She initially told KTOO, an Alaskan radio station, last month that she has not made a final decision, but “my inclination right now is, I’m hesitant to sign on to it for a host of different reasons.”

    However, she also told reporters last week that Congress needed to do more to exert itself against the executive branch, and noted that the war powers debate was coming up.

    "I think the path forward is for the legislative branch is to wake up and get its act together … assert your own powers," Murkowski said. "We're going to have a debate coming up on war powers. That's legitimate for us as a Congress to discuss and debate."

    https://thehill.com/policy/defense/482660-dems-pick-up-new-gop-support-to-rein-in-trumps-iran-war-powers



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  3. #2
    @oyarde did you vote for Sen. Todd Young? He is turning into a really good senator. He seems to be anti-war. What's his backgroumd?

  4. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by Warlord View Post
    @oyarde did you vote for Sen. Todd Young? He is turning into a really good senator. He seems to be anti-war. What's his backgroumd?
    Marine Capt that has experience in other roles some might be good some maybe not but a good mix. people here think of him as solid fiscally and anti communist. Took the 9th congress district seat prior.
    Last edited by oyarde; 02-12-2020 at 01:52 PM.
    Do something Danke

  5. #4

  6. #5
    See, Mitt Romney doesn’t always side with the Democrats. But he does always side with the MIC and neoconservatives.
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  7. #6
    Good to see one of my Senators supporting this.
    "Perhaps one of the most important accomplishments of my administration is minding my own business."

    Calvin Coolidge

  8. #7
    HAHHA Trump is PISSED!




  9. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Anti Globalist View Post
    Good to see one of my Senators supporting this.
    He's definitely catching attention. Seems he has an independent mind. A big improvement on Dan Coats.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Todd_Young



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  11. #9
    I'm eager to hear why this is a bad thing.
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  12. #10
    Justin Amash replies to Trump's tweet:


  13. #11
    The vote is tomorrow!

    The Senate is set to pass a bipartisan resolution this week to limit President Donald Trump’s authority to launch military operations against Iran weeks after the U.S. killed a top Iranian general.

    The War Powers resolution, introduced by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), will come to the floor Wednesday with a final expected vote Thursday. While the measure is not likely to garner enough support to overturn a likely Trump veto, its expected passage in the Senate nevertheless illustrates a rare congressional effort to rein in the president’s executive authority.

    In addition to all 47 Democrats, the measure so far has support from Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Todd Young of Indiana, Mike Lee of Utah, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Jerry Moran of Kansas. The Democratic senators running for president are expected to be in Washington for the vote on Thursday, ensuring that the 51-vote threshold for the War Powers resolution will be met.

    “The last thing this country should do is rush into or blunder into another war in the Middle East. And no matter who our president is, no president is smart enough to, on their own, make that kind of a decision without deliberation,” Kaine said in an interview. “The logic of the idea just gets more and more persuasive the more time that elapses after 9/11.”

    Indeed, Congress has abdicated war-making powers to the executive branch in the years after both chambers adopted authorizations for the use of military force against al Qaeda in 2001 and against Iraq in 2002. The war powers issue rose to prominence yet again last month in the days following Trump’s Jan. 2 order of an airstrike that killed Qassim Soleimani, the leader of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ elite Quds force and a longtime target of American military operations.

    If the War Powers measure is approved by both chambers as expected, it will be the second time such an effort has reached Trump’s desk. Last year, the House and Senate passed a War Powers resolution intended to cut off U.S. military support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen’s civil war — the first time both chambers of Congress used the 1973 War Powers Act to constrain presidential authority. Trump vetoed that resolution.

    On Wednesday, Trump urged GOP senators to vote against Kaine’s resolution, arguing that it sends “a very bad signal” and “Iran would have a field day.”

    “The Democrats are only doing this as an attempt to embarrass the Republican Party. Don’t let it happen!” Trump wrote on Twitter.

    Kaine’s bill would require Trump to cease all hostilities targeting Iran within 30 days unless explicitly approved by Congress. He has modified the original language of the resolution to attract Republican support, including nixing references to Trump. The measure — privileged under the War Powers Act — was on hold during the Senate’s three week impeachment trial, which concluded last week.

    Like the Yemen vote, Kaine’s effort will expose long-standing foreign policy divisions within the Republican Party. While the vast majority of Senate Republicans share the party’s historically hawkish positions and supported Trump’s decision to take out Soleimani, several GOP senators have teamed up with Democrats in recent years to force votes to rein in presidential war-making powers.

    “I think we’ve abdicated our duty to decide whether we should still be at war or not,” said Paul, who has long opposed U.S. interventions in foreign conflicts and has worked with Democrats over the years on war powers issues. “So the War Powers Act vote for me is just an opportunity to discuss whether or not we should still be at war in Afghanistan or Iraq or any of these places.”

    “I’m just ensuring that Congress fulfills our article one responsibilities, that’s all this is about,” added Young.

    The views of Paul and Young run counter to those expressed by Senate GOP leaders, who have long supported giving the commander-in-chief wide latitude to order military operations abroad.

    “Just as we have successfully sent Iran this strong signal of our strength and resolve, a blunt and clumsy War Powers resolution would tie our own hands,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said on Tuesday. “With China and Russia watching, is it really a good idea to suggest that we’re willing to let a middling power like Iran push us around?”

    While Republicans acknowledge the disagreements within their own party, they have sought to portray the GOP senators supporting Kaine’s bill as outliers.

    “I know there are some divisions in our conference, but I think the overwhelming majority [of Republicans] will vote against it for unnecessarily tying the hands of the president,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas). “I mean, we all agree that Congress plays an important role, and we’re not as nimble in actually responding to exigent circumstances.”

    Congressional Republicans generally praised Trump for the strike against Soleimani, but Democrats and even some Trump allies questioned the justification for the strike as well as Trump’s authority to carry it out without congressional approval.
    https://www.politico.com/news/2020/0...n-trump-114137

  14. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by nikcers View Post
    If Congress didn't want war with Iran they would consider removing sanctions or try diplomacy. This is just anti Trump legislation.
    If they were anti-war they would repeal the AUMF.

    They just want to tie Trump's hands while not controlling any other Presidents that follow.
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  15. #13

    Rand Paul: Great Nations Don't Fight Perpetual Wars 2/12/2020

    I Will Continue to Fight for the Truth that Great Nations Don't Fight Perpetual Wars (8:47)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSQcqeaeQQU

  16. #14
    Neocons are trying to KILL the BILL!


  17. #15
    Voting soon on this....... not sure when

  18. #16
    Hopefully this bill will not end up getting killed.
    "Perhaps one of the most important accomplishments of my administration is minding my own business."

    Calvin Coolidge



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  20. #17
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    Looks like all resolutions to weaken the bill were killed.

  21. #18

  22. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by Swordsmyth View Post
    If they were anti-war they would repeal the AUMF.

    They just want to tie Trump's hands while not controlling any other Presidents that follow.
    So are you for or against limiting the presidents war powers?
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  23. #20

  24. #21

  25. #22
    It passes 55-45. Unfortunately, it’s not veto proof.
    "Foreign aid is taking money from the poor people of a rich country, and giving it to the rich people of a poor country." - Ron Paul
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  26. #23
    Quote Originally Posted by Brian4Liberty View Post
    It passes 55-45. Unfortunately, it’s not veto proof.
    It sends an important message though.

    If my mathematics are correct that was 8 GOPers voted for it.

    That's a huge improvement on previous efforts to limit a presidents power...

  27. #24
    Quote Originally Posted by TomtheTinker View Post
    So are you for or against limiting the presidents war powers?
    I thought the Constitution gave the different branches of the government authority and it would take a constitutional amendment to change it. Hypothetical question, just a thought experiment I don't want to argue symantics. Assuming the Congress can change presidential powers would you want a Congress to hamstring the commander in chief prolonging a war indefinitely by removing their ability to wage it effectively so that we are in a war that effectively cannot be won while the Congress taxes you indefinitely for it?



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  29. #25
    Roll Call:

    Republicans who voted for the Resolution:


    Todd Young
    Mike Lee
    Lisa Murkowski
    Susan Collins
    Rand Paul
    Bill Cassidy
    Jerry Moran
    Lamar Alexander

  30. #26
    Quote Originally Posted by Warlord View Post
    It sends an important message though.

    If my mathematics are correct that was 8 GOPers voted for it.

    That's a huge improvement on previous efforts to limit a presidents power...
    Which Democrats voted against it?
    "Foreign aid is taking money from the poor people of a rich country, and giving it to the rich people of a poor country." - Ron Paul
    "Beware the Military-Industrial-Financial-Pharma-Corporate-Internet-Media-Government Complex." - B4L update of General Dwight D. Eisenhower
    "Debt is the drug, Wall St. Banksters are the dealers, and politicians are the addicts." - B4L
    "Totally free immigration? I've never taken that position. I believe in national sovereignty." - Ron Paul

    Proponent of real science.
    The views and opinions expressed here are solely my own, and do not represent this forum or any other entities or persons.

  31. #27
    Quote Originally Posted by Brian4Liberty View Post
    Which Democrats voted against it?
    None. All 47 voted for it along with 8 GOP (55-45)

  32. #28
    Here comes the veto.

    Prepare the talking points!
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    Pinochet is the model
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    Liberty preserving authoritarianism.
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    Enforced internal open borders was one of the worst elements of the Constitution.

  33. #29
    Quote Originally Posted by TheCount View Post
    Here comes the veto.

    Prepare the talking points!
    Look, Trump can't be bothered with Congress when he's busy arresting thousands of Deep State Pedophiles.
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  34. #30
    Quote Originally Posted by timosman View Post
    This is getting silly.
    Quote Originally Posted by Swordsmyth View Post
    It started silly.
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