(Bloomberg) — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell urged senators to reject a measure that would restrict President Donald Trump’s ability to take military action against Iran without congressional authorization.
A small group of Republicans have joined with Democrats to rein in the president after expressing frustration with the administration’s justification for the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani.
The resolution, which the Senate will take up this week, “would severely limit the U.S. military’s operations flexibility to defend itself against threats posed by Iran,” McConnell said Tuesday on the Senate floor. He called the Jan. 3 attack on Soleimani a “limited yet decisive precision strike” that eliminated a growing threat to U.S. personnel.
Four Republican senators are co-sponsoring the resolution with Senator Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat. It would bar U.S. troops from engaging in hostilities against Iran or any part of its government or military—unless Congress declared war or specifically authorized the use of military force.
“This is not about bucking the president,” Senator Mike Lee, a Utah Republican, said Monday. “This about making sure the process works as the Constitution requires.”
The GOP support, along with the 47 Democrats, will provide the 51 votes needed for the Senate to pass the resolution. The House passed a similar measure in January but would need to pass Kaine’s resolution for the legislation to go to Trump’s desk. The president is likely to veto it, and the Senate lacks the votes for an override.
“We’re likely to start the debate on Wednesday afternoon,” Kaine said. “We’ll probably have it done by Thursday.”
Trump ordered the drone strike that killed Soleimani in Baghdad. Some lawmakers, especially Democrats, have said the White House repeatedly shifted its justification for the strike.
Drawing Partisan Lines
In his remarks, McConnell worked to draw partisan lines in advance of the debate.
After Soleimani’s killing, “Washington Democrats immediately suggested President Trump was leading us into World War III,” the majority leader said. He said the resolution is a “blunt and clumsy” measure and asked whether it’s wise to “let a power like Iran push us around” with China and Russia watching.
McConnell also asked whether Democrats agree with leading Democratic presidential contenders in their party who have said Trump erred in his action.
The Senate measure, S.J.Res. 68, includes changes sought by Republicans who were frustrated by a classified briefing in January by Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and other administration officials. Lee said it was the worst briefing he’d ever received on military matters.
Republicans Rand Paul of Kentucky, Todd Young of Indiana and Susan Collins of Maine are also co-sponsoring the Senate measure.
With four Democratic senators — Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Michael Bennet of Colorado — in New Hampshire for the presidential primary Tuesday, holding the vote late Wednesday or Thursday would give them time to return to Washington.
The House resolution similar to Kaine’s is sponsored by Representative Elissa Slotkin, a Michigan Democrat and a former CIA analyst.
The House also has passed other bills related to the Soleimani operation, including two in January from Representatives Ro Khanna and Barbara Lee, both of California, that would defund military action against Iran not authorized by Congress. It also would repeal a 2002 authorization for the use of military force that the administration has cited as part of its justification for the strike on Soleimani.
To contact the reporters on this story: Daniel Flatley in Washington at [email protected];Laura Litvan in Washington at [email protected]
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Joe Sobczyk at [email protected], Laurie Asséo
For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com
Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.