Leader Schumer Floor Remarks Urging Republicans To Reject Trump’s Reckless Military Adventurism And Support Bipartisan War Powers Resolution

Washington, D.C. - Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) today spoke on the Senate floor slamming Donald Trump and his reckless military adventurism while ignoring the plight of Americans at home ahead of a Republican-led vote to dismiss the bipartisan War Powers Resolution. Below are Senator Schumer's remarks:

The need for this resolution is simple, it is clear: the American people do not support another forever war with Venezuela.

The American people don't want Donald Trump sending our troops into harm's way without so much as a debate in Congress.

Today, the Senate has a chance to move forward on asserting Congress's constitutional authority on matters of war and peace.

We can tell Donald Trump enough with the foreign adventures, it's time to focus on lowering costs here at home. That's what the American people want.

This resolution is necessary right now because Donald Trump has made clear what happened in Venezuela is not a one-and-done operation. Not at all.

Last week, The New York Times asked him: are we going to be there a month, six months, a year? And you know what his answer was? Donald Trump said, "I would say much longer."

He said, we want to give money to Venezuela. Here we are - people don't have enough money for health care, for housing, for so many other things and we want to give money to Venezuela? How is that America first?

And Trump threatened further military action if the current government doesn't cooperate with the United States.

Now the administration is trying to concoct an argument that we're not engaged in hostilities-but that's absurd. You don't have to be a great expert in military affairs to know that we are heavily engaged.

Donald Trump says were not engaged in hostilities? Tell that to the 16,000 U.S. service members currently deployed in the Caribbean. Tell that to our service members on the Ford carrier strike force. Look at the Marine expeditionary unit operating in the region.

Donald Trump is turning the Caribbean into a dangerous powder keg-and Congress must rein him in before one mistake ignites a larger, more unstable conflict.

So, the Senate needs to exert its constitutional role when it comes to the use of military force.

I know there are Senate Republicans acting in good faith who are worried about Venezuela getting out of hand.

I urge them to reject this point of order -to provide a necessary backstop, a necessary check, a necessary guardrail on executive power.

It is the right thing to do for the American people.

That means: no more forever wars; no more military escapades without congressional authorization; no more tens of billions to prop up foreign regimes while families, American families struggle here at home.

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