Senator Urges Dems to Block All Other Bills Until There’s a War Powers Vote

U.S. Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy (Connecticut) is urging members of his party to block all legislation in Congress until there is a War Powers Resolution vote to restrict President Donald Trump’s military actions in Iran.

Trump and members of his administration have frequently referred to the U.S.’s attacks on Iran, which are being conducted jointly with Israel, as a “war.” Only Congress has the power to declare war on another country, and presidents are supposed to be limited in what military actions they can take without congressional approval.

Two separate War Powers Resolution votes last week — one in the Senate and one in the House of Representatives — failed to pass. But while those votes to curtail Trump’s war powers did not go through, Murphy has pointed out that the failed votes do not equal congressional approval for war.

In an appearance on the “On NOTUS” podcast, which aired on Monday morning, Murphy made clear that he is supportive of forcing a new War Powers Resolution vote, and that Democrats should delay any work within Congress until such a vote takes place.

“Democrats should not just pretend like this is normal,” Murphy said on the program. “We shouldn’t let Republicans debate other legislation until they bring a war authorization to the United States Senate.”

Murphy also expressed a desire for Congress to go further than a War Powers Resolution, stating that there should be a vote on declaration of war — and that, should such a vote fail, it should be taken as a vote against continued use of military force, as the Constitution dictates.

“The president has the obligation to get consent from Congress before he goes to war. He did not do that,” Murphy told NOTUS.

He added that a “failed” War Powers Resolution “is not a substitute for a declaration of war by Congress.”

Without authorization from Congress, “This will be the most significant act of war that the United States has undertaken in the last 50 years without the permission of Congress,” Murphy said, adding:

We need a declaration of war vote in front of the Senate, this week or next week. That is what we should be demanding, not, frankly, a vote on a War Powers Resolution.

Murphy also appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union” program on Sunday, deriding the Trump administration for failing to provide clear objectives for its war on Iran.

“I think this administration just fails to understand how to achieve any of their objectives,” the senator said. “So their objectives shift by the minute. Sometimes we’re pursuing regime change, sometimes we’re not.”

The war “just doesn’t seem to achieve anything other than waste a billion dollars a day and drive up prices for Americans here at home,” Murphy continued.

Despite the administration’s rosy predictions, a majority of Americans are unhappy with Trump’s decision to go to war, multiple polls have shown.

An NBC News poll, for example, found that 52 percent of Americans believe the U.S. and Israel should not have taken military action against Iran, with just 41 percent saying they believe they should have. A Marist poll also showed that 56 percent of Americans oppose military action in Iran, compared to 44 percent who support it.

And a CNN/SSRS poll found that 59 percent of Americans disapprove of the decision to go to war, with just 41 percent in favor of the move. That same poll found that, like Murphy, 62 percent of Americans believe Trump should have sought congressional authorization before launching any military conflict with Iran.

Editor’s note: The headline of this piece has been updated to clarify Murphy’s comments.