Senate Democrats Force War Powers Vote as Trump's War in Iran Spirals Out of Control

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In the fourth week of Donald Trump's war with Iran, U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) forced a vote on Murphy's War Powers Resolution to withdraw U.S. Armed Forces from hostilities in and against Iran. Senate Republicans blocked the measure.

Since Trump started this war nearly 30 days ago, 13 U.S. service members have been killed, gas prices have spiked all across the country, inflation is rising and the region has become a tinderbox. Last week, in a desperate move to alleviate the energy crisis Trump created, the administration announced it was lifting sanctions on Iranian oil, essentially cutting a $14 billion check to the very country the U.S. is currently fighting. As Trump's deeply unpopular war spirals out of control, his Republican allies in Congress refuse to hold public hearings with members of the administration. The senators' move to force debate on the floor today is part of their continued efforts to demand public hearings and stop Trump's unauthorized war of choice.

"The consequences of this war are stunning in their scope: higher prices for American businesses and American families, a potential global recession, the wasting of billions of dollars of hard-earned taxpayer dollars, and new conflicts in the region that didn't exist before the war began," said Murphy. "If our Republican colleagues will not do their duty, if they are going to engage in an effort to hide the consequences of the war, if they are going to refuse to ask questions of our incompetent national security leaders at the White House, who have waged this war without planning for the foreseeable consequences, then we will force a debate and a vote on this floor. This war is not going to make more sense the longer it goes."

"We are at war, a war the American people never asked for and Congress is doing nothing," said Booker. "No oversight, no hearings, no checks and balances as this administration spends freely and recklessly. Already, $25 billion has been poured into Donald Trump's war with zero accountability. And while that money disappears overseas, Americans are feeling the consequences here at home: cuts to health care for millions, rising energy costs, billions stripped from veterans' services, and deep cuts to school meals and support for children with special needs. That same $25 billion could insure more than 3 million Americans, provide free school lunches to 30 million children, or offer housing assistance to millions of families. Congress swore an oath to defend the Constitution - not to rubber-stamp this president's decisions. We must do our job."

"It's outrageous that my Republican colleagues continue to allow President Trump to bypass Congress on so many issues, but especially one as important and solemn as whether to send our nation's sons and daughters into war," said Kaine. "A majority of Americans across the country oppose war with Iran and want President Trump to focus on lowering costs at home. I'm going to keep pressuring my colleagues to have the basic courage to hold hearings on this crisis, reassert our constitutional responsibilities, and end President Trump's war of choice against Iran."

"We are on the cusp of American boots on the ground. And as goalposts have continued to shift, I ask my Senate colleagues: will that still be your red line? Or will the President be allowed to put American Special Forces in harm's way for a war that Congress has not authorized. And a war whose true purpose is kept hidden from most Americans. It is time to put a stop to this war, before its costs rise further still. It is time for the Congress of the United States to do its job," said Schiff.

"Donald Trump is raising costs on Americans at the same moment he's spending billions on a war that Wisconsin families did not choose," said Baldwin. "What Donald Trump spent in three weeks is what it would have cost to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits for a year. We are demanding public hearings so Secretary Hegseth and Secretary Rubio can answer, under oath, why we are using taxpayer dollars on this illegal war, instead of bringing down the cost of health care, housing, groceries, and childcare for the families I represent."

"Right now, our duty is to demand accountability," said Duckworth. "It's to get answers. It's to make sure that our servicemembers' mission is justified, feasible and worthy of the sacrifices we are asking them to make. That's why we're here today: to ensure that our nation never again get ourselves into an ego-driven forever war, like the last time a president rashly sent our sons and daughters into an unjustified war in the Middle East. We're here to make sure that we never again get ourselves into an ego-driven forever war. We're here to stop a man who was never brave enough to serve in uniform himself from using our heroes as cannon fodder."