The group warns that, without action, Trump’s war on Iran could follow the path of other wars that took decades to end.
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A group of four Democrats in the Senate are jointly vowing to oppose any government funding package that allows President Donald Trump to continue his war on Iran, taking a hardline stance on ending the war before the federal government’s funding expires on December 11.
In a statement released on Thursday, Senators Michael Bennet (D-Colorado), Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland) and Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois) specified that their plan is to keep the government open while barring Trump from using funds for the war.
“As we approach the December 11 funding deadline, we should not accept a short-term spending deal that continues to provide billions of additional dollars for President Trump’s war of choice. Any short-term package must include language that restricts the Trump Administration from using appropriated funds to continue his war against Iran,” the senators said.
If Congress doesn’t take decisive action to force an end to the war, they warned, the war could drag on for decades.
“We know from Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq that these wars can take decades to end – hurting our economy, draining our military resources, and making Americans less safe…. Congress cannot allow Trump to continue his conflict — we must force him to end it,” they went on.
“When we vote on appropriations, we intend to fund the government and stop funds for this war,” the statement concluded.
In recent days, Van Hollen has been loudly advocating for Congress to block funding for the war in a tactic similar to the one Congress used to help end the Vietnam War. Bennet also wrote a letter this past weekend to his colleagues, urging them to join him in opposing a continuing resolution that contains “another cent for” Trump’s war.
“The stakes are too high for us to fall into our usual shutdown politics,” Bennet wrote.
Indeed, though candidates’ pledges to end the war helped deliver Democrats’ overwhelming midterm victory, many centrist Democrats in Congress are already demurring on using the continuing resolution to end the war. They argue that the risk of a government shutdown outweighs the benefits of forcing an immediate end to the war in which Trump has threatened to commit genocide numerous times.
Sen. Patty Murray (Washington) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (Connecticut), the top Democrats on the Senate and House Appropriations committees, which are responsible for government funding bills, have said that they prefer to pass a short-term funding extension, per The Washington Sun. Sen. Chris Coons (Delaware), the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee, even went as far as to say that a move to force Trump to shut down the government for his war would “divert us from our core objectives” — even though many Democrats have said that ending the war is a top priority.
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