SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Sen. Tim Kaine appeared on MSNBC Friday to explain why he introduced a War Powers resolution to prevent a war with Iran. (Screenshot/MSNBC)
Sen. Tim Kaine Files War Powers Resolution to Stop Trump From 'Stumbling Into a War With Iran'
"Congress cannot be a bystander," said Quaker lobbying group FCNL. "The #EndlessWars must stop!"
Jan 02, 2020
Saying the situation in the Persian Gulf had now reached "a boiling point," Sen. Tim Kaine introduced a War Powers resolution on Friday in an effort to stop the Trump administration from waging war on Iran.
\u201cI just filed a resolution to prevent Trump from starting a war with Iran. The President wants to pretend that Congress doesn't exist, but it's our clear Constitutional duty to debate and vote before allowing him to rush into an unnecessary war.\u201d— Tim Kaine (@Tim Kaine) 1578080696
"For years, I've been deeply concerned about President [Donald] Trump stumbling into a war with Iran," said Kaine (D-Va.). "We're now at a boiling point, and Congress must step in before Trump puts even more of our troops in harm's way. We owe it to our servicemembers to have a debate and vote about whether or not it's in our national interest to engage in another unnecessary war in the Middle East."
The Senate is obligated to vote on the legislation, as War Powers resolutions are privileged.
The measure, which has Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) as a co-sponsor, says that the 2001 and 2002 Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMFs) provide no authorization for waging war against Iran and calls for the president to remove troops from engaging in hostilities against Iran within 30 days "unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or specific authorization for use of military force."
"I feel it is very foolish for the us to be involved in another war in the the Middle East," Kaine toldMSNBC's Andrea Mitchell Friday afternoon. "But however you think about that question--Should we be at war?--I do know this. We should not go to a war with Iran based on a presidential decision with no consultation of Congress."
"We should not be committing our troops to war unless Congress has the guts to debate and vote that it's in the national interest," he added.
FCNL, the Quaker lobby, praised Kaine's call earlier Friday for restraint. "Congress cannot be a bystander," the group tweeted Friday. "The #EndlessWars must stop!"
In a later tweet, the faith-based group echoed Kaine's call for congressional action.
"War is not the answer; neither is assassination or mass killings of civilians," the group said. "We call on Congress to exercise its constitutional authority and stop the march to war."
Kaine's resolution was filed after the assassination Thursday night of Iran's top military leader, Qassem Soleimani, on orders from Trump. That killing sparked warnings from peace advocates and some Democratic lawmakers that the U.S. had set the stage for an all-out conflict with Iran.
On January 20th, it begins...
Political revenge. Mass deportations. Project 2025. Unfathomable corruption. Attacks on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Pardons for insurrectionists. An all-out assault on democracy. Republicans in Congress are scrambling to give Trump broad new powers to strip the tax-exempt status of any nonprofit he doesn’t like by declaring it a “terrorist-supporting organization.” Trump has already begun filing lawsuits against news outlets that criticize him. At Common Dreams, we won’t back down, but we must get ready for whatever Trump and his thugs throw at us. Our Year-End campaign is our most important fundraiser of the year. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. By donating today, please help us fight the dangers of a second Trump presidency. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Saying the situation in the Persian Gulf had now reached "a boiling point," Sen. Tim Kaine introduced a War Powers resolution on Friday in an effort to stop the Trump administration from waging war on Iran.
\u201cI just filed a resolution to prevent Trump from starting a war with Iran. The President wants to pretend that Congress doesn't exist, but it's our clear Constitutional duty to debate and vote before allowing him to rush into an unnecessary war.\u201d— Tim Kaine (@Tim Kaine) 1578080696
"For years, I've been deeply concerned about President [Donald] Trump stumbling into a war with Iran," said Kaine (D-Va.). "We're now at a boiling point, and Congress must step in before Trump puts even more of our troops in harm's way. We owe it to our servicemembers to have a debate and vote about whether or not it's in our national interest to engage in another unnecessary war in the Middle East."
The Senate is obligated to vote on the legislation, as War Powers resolutions are privileged.
The measure, which has Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) as a co-sponsor, says that the 2001 and 2002 Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMFs) provide no authorization for waging war against Iran and calls for the president to remove troops from engaging in hostilities against Iran within 30 days "unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or specific authorization for use of military force."
"I feel it is very foolish for the us to be involved in another war in the the Middle East," Kaine toldMSNBC's Andrea Mitchell Friday afternoon. "But however you think about that question--Should we be at war?--I do know this. We should not go to a war with Iran based on a presidential decision with no consultation of Congress."
"We should not be committing our troops to war unless Congress has the guts to debate and vote that it's in the national interest," he added.
FCNL, the Quaker lobby, praised Kaine's call earlier Friday for restraint. "Congress cannot be a bystander," the group tweeted Friday. "The #EndlessWars must stop!"
In a later tweet, the faith-based group echoed Kaine's call for congressional action.
"War is not the answer; neither is assassination or mass killings of civilians," the group said. "We call on Congress to exercise its constitutional authority and stop the march to war."
Kaine's resolution was filed after the assassination Thursday night of Iran's top military leader, Qassem Soleimani, on orders from Trump. That killing sparked warnings from peace advocates and some Democratic lawmakers that the U.S. had set the stage for an all-out conflict with Iran.
Saying the situation in the Persian Gulf had now reached "a boiling point," Sen. Tim Kaine introduced a War Powers resolution on Friday in an effort to stop the Trump administration from waging war on Iran.
\u201cI just filed a resolution to prevent Trump from starting a war with Iran. The President wants to pretend that Congress doesn't exist, but it's our clear Constitutional duty to debate and vote before allowing him to rush into an unnecessary war.\u201d— Tim Kaine (@Tim Kaine) 1578080696
"For years, I've been deeply concerned about President [Donald] Trump stumbling into a war with Iran," said Kaine (D-Va.). "We're now at a boiling point, and Congress must step in before Trump puts even more of our troops in harm's way. We owe it to our servicemembers to have a debate and vote about whether or not it's in our national interest to engage in another unnecessary war in the Middle East."
The Senate is obligated to vote on the legislation, as War Powers resolutions are privileged.
The measure, which has Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) as a co-sponsor, says that the 2001 and 2002 Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMFs) provide no authorization for waging war against Iran and calls for the president to remove troops from engaging in hostilities against Iran within 30 days "unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or specific authorization for use of military force."
"I feel it is very foolish for the us to be involved in another war in the the Middle East," Kaine toldMSNBC's Andrea Mitchell Friday afternoon. "But however you think about that question--Should we be at war?--I do know this. We should not go to a war with Iran based on a presidential decision with no consultation of Congress."
"We should not be committing our troops to war unless Congress has the guts to debate and vote that it's in the national interest," he added.
FCNL, the Quaker lobby, praised Kaine's call earlier Friday for restraint. "Congress cannot be a bystander," the group tweeted Friday. "The #EndlessWars must stop!"
In a later tweet, the faith-based group echoed Kaine's call for congressional action.
"War is not the answer; neither is assassination or mass killings of civilians," the group said. "We call on Congress to exercise its constitutional authority and stop the march to war."
Kaine's resolution was filed after the assassination Thursday night of Iran's top military leader, Qassem Soleimani, on orders from Trump. That killing sparked warnings from peace advocates and some Democratic lawmakers that the U.S. had set the stage for an all-out conflict with Iran.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.