Yesterday evening, Sens. Adam Schiff (CA) and Tim Kaine (VA) forced a vote on their War Powers Resolution, S.J.Res.83 to stop the President from using the military in illegal attacks in the Caribbean. The measure was defeated by a close vote of 51 to 48, with Republican senators Rand Paul (KY) and Lisa Murkowski (AK) voting in favor and Sen. John Fetterman (PA) voting against.
While the measure did not pass, the close vote showed strong opposition to continuing this violent and unlawful course. This War Powers Resolution is an essential and powerful tool for reasserting Congress’s role in representing the American people and for preventing further harm and erosion of the rights to life and due process.
Sen. Schiff emphasized as much in his opening statement, “The President has used our military to strike unknown targets on at least four occasions, and he is promising more. With at least 21 people dead and more killing on the way and with the President telling us that strikes on land-based targets may be next, we ask you to join us in reasserting Congress’s vital control over the war power.”
Sen. Jack Reed (RI) followed with a clear warning, “If we allow these unauthorized operations to continue unchecked, we will have surrendered Congress’s most solemn constitutional duty. We will have set the precedent that the President—any President—may initiate military action at will, without oversight, without transparency, and without the consent of the governed.”
The Vote
Nearly all Democrats heeded these warnings, with all but Sen. Fetterman supporting the resolution. Republican Sens. Paul and Murkowski showed principled leadership in voting for the resolution as well. All those who voted in favor from both sides of the aisle were a critical effort to represent the American people to prevent irresponsible, illegal, and immoral uses of United States servicemembers.
In line with his vocal assertions of the illegality of these strikes throughout the last month, Sen. Paul reemphasized, “A republic that allows its Executive to kill without law is a republic in deep peril.”
Notably, Sen. Todd Young (IN) who voted against the resolution, made a subsequent statement expressing his concern over the strikes in the Caribbean: “Despite my opposition to this resolution, I am highly concerned about the legality of recent strikes in the Caribbean and the trajectory of military operations without congressional approval or debate and the support of the American people.”
The vote to bring forward a War Powers Resolution was a valiant effort which we can continue to build upon. We can follow the example set by a recent Congress: “each time Senators… and Representatives… [from both parties] used the War Powers Resolution to force votes on U.S. participation in the Saudi-led war in Yemen in 2017, 2018, and 2019, they inched closer to winning a majority until the measure finally passed both chambers of Congress on April 4, 2019.” We have had a promising beginning, and now we need to continue the effort to terminate the U.S.’s unnecessary and illegal military pursuits.
What We Seek
We urge Congress to press on in pursuing limits to the President’s overreach and unlawful uses of the U.S. military. Otherwise, the consequences could grow ever more dire—in the Caribbean, in Latin America, and within our own borders.
In debate on the floor last night, Sen. Kaine aptly recognized that, across the country “constituents are tired of wars and don’t want Congress declaring more wars and treating serious law enforcement problems as challenges for the U.S. military,” inviting his colleagues to represent their constituents well, alongside upholding U.S. law.
We urge the President to follow the will of the American people, represented yesterday by 48 senators, to stop these illegal acts and seek a dignifying, health-focused way to address drug trafficking and addiction in this hemisphere.
We seek a world free of war and the threat of war.
