Senator Bill Cassidy (R) - Louisiana
Senator Bill Cassidy is one of eight Republicans to join Senate Democrats in voting to limit the President’s authority to take military action against Iran.
Cassidy says the vote was not a slight to President Trump, he just feels Congress needs to reclaim it’s responsibility in deciding when to head to war and make sure any decision has public support.
“If we are going to be in a position where our young people are going to be in harm’s way, then that needs to be debated, Congress needs to fulfill its constitutional responsibility, and our country needs to be united,” says Cassidy.
The measure cleared the Senate 55-45 and heads to the House next, where a similar bill was passed earlier this year.
Cassidy cited The Obama Administration’s decision to bomb Libya as a prime example of executive branch overreach in making decisions that will lead to war.
“I go to a conference and I am saying to his administration that we are dropping bombs, Congress didn’t declare a war! And they say, well we don’t consider this a war, and I say what? You are dropping bombs and you don’t consider it a war?”
President Trump has vowed to veto the measure, and Louisiana’s other Senator, John Kennedy, voted against it.
Cassidy says the measure would not have prevented the President from taking action like the decision earlier this year to bomb an Iranian General in Iraq. “In the administration’s best judgment, that would not lead to sustained conflict, and so it is permissible,” says Cassidy.
The wording calls for the termination of the President’s ability to use the military against Iran unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or use of force.
