In response to today’s crucial Senate vote on the Udall-Kaine amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), J Street’s Vice President of Government Affairs Dylan Williams issued the following statement:
“A bipartisan Senate majority just sent a clear message that President Trump is not authorized to launch a disastrous new war of choice with Iran. While Leader McConnell maneuvered to prevent the amendment from formally passing by a simple up-or-down vote, he couldn’t prevent the majority of Senators — including four Republicans — from standing up to the Trump administration’s push towards war.
Leader McConnell and every one of the senators who voted against this amendment must be held fully accountable for their refusal to uphold their constitutional responsibilities and for their choice to empower the extreme and dangerous schemes of John Bolton. If the American people are dragged against their will into another Middle East war, the president’s Republican enablers in Congress will bear a large share of the blame.
Democratic leadership should now proceed to pass the version of this amendment that has been introduced in the House — and then insist that it must be included in the final, conference version of the NDAA that is sent to the president’s desk. With the future of the region and many lives hanging in the balance, Trump and McConnell cannot be allowed to defy the will of congressional majorities in both houses.”