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WASHINGTON – Following the 100-day mark of the Iran War, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) spoke on the Senate floor today criticizing President Trump’s unclear strategy and recent comments on “Meet the Press” in which he reiterated yet again that he is “very close” to a deal.
“If that sounds like a familiar refrain, it is. President Trump has been saying some variation of that sentence almost every week since the war began over 100 days ago. Yet just hours after he made those comments, Iran and Israel traded a new wave of strikes, and the Houthis, an Iranian backed militia, also fired on Israel and threatened to further restrict shipping in the Middle East. While this latest exchange has ended, the larger regional instability remains, and global oil reserves continue to diminish by the hour,” Durbin said.
“And in a cruel irony, it appears President Trump is inching toward a deal with Iran that is similar to the [President] Obama Iran Nuclear Agreement from which Trump recklessly withdrew during his first term in office. Ultimately, wars cannot be won through blunt or bluster. We need a real plan that will bring a real end to these hostilities and to Iran’s threats to the region. I am pleased that my Republican colleagues are finally beginning to realize that reality,” Durbin said.
Last week, the House passed a resolution requiring the President receive Congressional approval before taking any further military action against Iran, and last month, the Senate advanced a similar measure.
Durbin concluded, “We cannot allow the President to wage a war without checks, oversight, and accountability. Congress must step up and exercise its responsibility.”
Video of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.
Audio of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.
