FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 9, 2020
Contact: David Segal, david@demandprogress.org
The following can be attributed to Demand Progress Executive Director David Segal:
"Donald Trump has made it clear he is willing to risk all-out war with Iran unless Congress takes away his war powers. With tonight’s expected vote on a War Powers Resolution, the House can move to prevent a spiral into an immoral war that the American people do not want and which could take an unfathomable human toll.
"We must ensure that the administration does not feel emboldened to take further action to start or provoke a war. It's time for Congress to take away the keys and stop Trump. Trump thinks the option of attacking Iran is still open to him — Congress must act now to make clear that it is not.
"It’s important to note that the fact we are at this juncture is a failure of Congress’s recent posture vis-a-vis Iran. Congress already could have acted to prevent additional hostilities. During the summer of 2019 the House initially passed amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to block war with Iran and to repeal the 2002 Iraq War AUMF, which Trump has considered using as justification for attacks on Iran. But in December 2019, Democrats in the House and Senate rolled over for Trump and refused to make sure the relevant language was included in the final version of the NDAA.
"Later that month, Trump ordered the assassination of Qasem Soleimani, provoking a military response from Iran. Trump’s opposition to the Iran language in the NDAA should have been taken as evidence that he was spoiling for a fight and as cause for Democrats to fight harder — not to stand down.
"Demand Progress has helped lead efforts to encourage Congress to limit Trump's ability to attack Iran, organizing more than one hundred thousand people to email or call the House and Senate over the last year. If the House approves the resolution today, the fight will move to the Senate where there are just enough Republicans who have made it clear they are uneasy with Trump risking war with Iran that the resolution could pass. We will continue to mobilize to ensure the Senate passes a war powers resolution and pressures the administration to avoid a war America does not want."
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