“What President Trump is doing is right and necessary. For 47 years, Iran has attacked our country and our people… It is wrong to vote to signal weakness to our enemies. It is wrong to vote to undermine our troops in combat. It is wrong to vote to undercut Peace through Strength. I will vote to uphold the safety and security of our country.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) today spoke in opposition to the War Powers Resolution introduced by Senator Tim Kaine (D-Va.), which the Senate is expected to vote on this afternoon.
Senator Barrasso highlighted how President Donald J. Trump has acted within his authority as Commander-in-Chief to protect America.
Click HERE to watch Senator Barrasso’s remarks.
Sen. Barrasso’s remarks:
“I rise in firm opposition to the War Powers Resolution offered by Democrat Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia. Let me expose this resolution for what it is. The Democrat Resolution undercuts American Peace through Strength. I just heard the Minority Leader come to the Floor. He said, ‘No one has the guts to stand up to him to say he’s wrong.’ I think he was talking about President Trump. Let me tell you, the Republicans are going to stand up to Chuck Schumer and to Tim Kaine who brought this resolution today on the Floor of the United States Senate and say to them ‘you’re wrong,’ ‘you’re wrong.’
“The purpose of the War Powers Act of 1973 is to ensure consultation and reporting. It is never intended to allow Congress to micromanage military operations. Under the statute, a President must notify Congress within 48 hours. President Trump did that. Members of this body were further briefed yesterday by top officials from the administration. The law then provides a 60-day window for continued military action.
“Many people believe the War Powers Act is unconstitutional. The Constitution makes the President the Commander-in-Chief. Every modern President has exercised this authority. President Clinton did in the Balkans. President Obama did in Libya. President Biden did in Syria and the Gaza Strip. So why do Democrats object today? Because Donald Trump is President of the United States. Democrats would rather obstruct President Trump than obliterate Iran’s nuclear program. The Democrats want to use the War Powers Act as a partisan battering ram.
“This is Senator Kaine’s fifth War Powers Resolution since President Trump returned to office a little more than a year ago. These resolutions have been used only eleven times in 50 years. The Senator from Virginia alone accounts for nearly half of them. Yet Senator Kaine introduced zero War Powers resolutions when Barrack Obama and Joe Biden were President.
“And it isn’t just the War Powers Resolution. As Democrats jeopardize American Peace through Strength abroad, they are obstructing American security here at home. A few minutes ago on this Floor, Senator Schumer, the Minority Leader, came to the Floor, he said that what was happening in Iran, he said, is ‘military insanity.’ Those are his words. Well let me tell you what insanity is. Insanity is not allowing the Department of Homeland Security to be funded because the Democrats are blocking that funding today. They’ve done it earlier this week. They’ve been doing it now for several weeks. At a time when our nation is on red alert for terrorism. And they’re coming to the Senate Floor today to try and tie President Trump’s hands in a situation in Iran that is making America safer, making the world safer, and the Democrats are undermining our security at home.
“Democrats continue to shut down the Department of Homeland Security. The Department of Homeland Security has critical counterterrorism missions. Democrats want to keep it shutdown with no end in sight. This Democrat shutdown endangers every single American citizen. The next cyberattack on our homeland – that’s on the Democrats. The next shooting by a lone wolf terrorist – that’s on the Democrats. The next criminal that crosses our border illegally and kills an innocent American – that’s on the Democrats. The American people deserve better. The American people deserve safety. The Department of Homeland Security must be fully funded and its workers fully paid.
“Make no mistake. What President Trump is doing is right and necessary. For 47 years, Iran has attacked our country and our people. From Beirut to Baghdad, Iran and its terrorist proxies have American blood on their hands. Every President has pledged Iran would never have a nuclear weapon. Only President Trump had the courage to keep that pledge.
“President Trump worked for more than a year on a diplomatic offramp. He offered Iran every opportunity to choose peace. Iran refused every offer. The Iranian regime was racing to build nuclear weapons. It was building and stockpiling deadly missiles. As the Defense Intelligence Agency reported, Iran had ‘the largest and most diverse’ missile arsenal in the Middle East. Only when it became clear that Iran was preparing to attack our troops and our allies did President Trump strike first.
“Operation Epic Fury is a defensive action against a clear, present, and accelerating danger. Our forces are engaged in targeted strikes against Iran’s military assets. Their mission is to destroy Iran’s capacity to wage war. They’re succeeding. The case for this mission is clear and publicly stated. President Trump communicated our objectives within hours of the first strike. Destroy Iran’s missile industry. That includes their missiles, launchers, and production capacity. Destroy Iran’s navy. Destroy Iran’s terrorist proxy network. Stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. And that’s exactly what our brave men and women in uniform have done.
“In less than a week, Iran’s supreme leadership has been killed. Its missile and drone industry destroyed. Its navy sunk. The tentacles of Iran’s terror network severed. Its capacity to ever produce nuclear weapons eliminated. This is American peace through strength. President Trump absolutely acted within his Article 2, Section 2 Constitutional powers to achieve these goals.
“When Democrats claim President Trump lacks the constitutional authority to carry out this mission, they are wrong. When they claim President Trump has not clearly laid out our objectives to the American people, they are wrong. Our targeted strikes also send a powerful message of deterrence to our adversaries. Russia and China are seeing that American resolve is real.
“There is also a profound opportunity here for the Iranian people. Operation Epic Fury is a defensive action for America, and it can lead to freedom for the Iranian people. The Iranian people are prisoners of this oppressive regime. They have been for decades. With the regime degraded, the Iranian people now have the opportunity to chart their own future. America is fighting the Iranian regime,
not the Iranian people. The Iranian people aspire to freedom. They have America’s support.
“Let me return to the Kaine Resolution. It is wrong to vote to signal weakness to our enemies. It is wrong to vote to undermine our troops in combat. It is wrong to vote to undercut Peace through Strength. I will vote to uphold the safety and security of our country.”
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