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WASHINGTON — Win Without War Executive Director Stephen Miles released the following statement regarding President Trump’s veto of Sen. Kaine’s Iran War Powers Resolution (S.J.Res.68):

“Once again Donald Trump has gone out of his way to trample both the powers of Congress and the will of the people, all in order to bring us closer to a catastrophic war with Iran and distract from his failures to address this global pandemic.

“A majority of Congress has repeatedly and unequivocally declared its opposition to war with Iran. The House has spoken through two Iran War Powers votes, as well as bills to block funding for an unauthorized war and to repeal the 2002 Iraq War authorization for use of military force, which the Trump administration erroneously claims provides authority for war with Iran. As a co-equal branch of government with the sole constitutional authority to declare war, a bipartisan resolution supported by a majority of Congress should be enough. Simply put: Trump is not authorized to start a war. But he refuses to listen.

“In the six times that Trump has used his veto during his presidency, all six were to override Congress’s attempts to check his reckless misuse of national security powers, including another War Powers Resolution on U.S. involvement in the catastrophic war in Yemen. Today’s act of disregard for constitutional separation of powers comes mere weeks after Trump baselessly claimed that his ‘authority is total,’ prompting bipartisan condemnation.

“The COVID-19 crisis should be a wake-up call: the war-first foreign policy status quo has made the world less safe, not more. Now is the time to rein in U.S. militarism, not risk another war.”

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Win Without War is a diverse network of activists and national organizations working for progressive foreign policy in the United States.