US Democrats are furious after Trump’s latest strike on Iranpublished 15:09 BST 9 July
Bernd Debusmann Jr.
White House reporter
Renewed U.S. military strikes on Iran have been largely met with silence from members of the Republican Party, with public comments few and far between.
But on the other side of the political spectrum, Democrats reacted with fury, with many calling on the White House to ask Congress for permission to resume hostilities.
Last month, the Republican-controlled US Senate approved a measure requiring Trump to end the war or seek congressional approval – a largely symbolic gesture that was nonetheless seen as a rare rebuke of Trump by lawmakers who have largely fallen behind the president since his return to the White House.
“Congress voted against continuing the war against Iran,” Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia said Wednesday. “The United States should not strike again without congressional approval and renew a war that has driven up gas prices, killed Americans, and crippled the economy.”
Another Democrat, Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, characterized the new strikes as “furthering the abuses of foreign policy.”
“Negotiations are a ‘waste of time’ because Trump’s negotiators are changing every day,” he said, quoting Trump. “As are his goals and demands. All this gross incompetence is costing American taxpayers and consumers billions.”