Chuck Schumer Says Democrats Will Force War Powers Vote on Iran Next Week, Blasts Trump as ‘Military Moron’

Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) blasted President Donald Trump as a “military moron” over his handling of the Iran war and said Democrats would force a vote on a War Powers Resolution next week “to end this war for good.”

The U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iran have been controversial from the beginning, and Trump has received scathing criticism from the right as well as the left as the war has continued. The president’s recent social media posts threatening devastating consequences against civilian infrastructure like bridges and power plants if Iran did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz by 8 pm ET on Tuesday, were assessed as war crimes by numerous international law experts and sparked a wave of calls for the 25th Amendment to be invoked, removing Trump from office. Pope Leo XIV issued an unusually direct critique of Trump’s threats, calling them “truly unacceptable” and an escalation of an “unjust war.”

Tuesday evening, just a few hours before Trump’s deadline was set to expire, there were announcements about a two-week ceasefire from multiple sources with conflicting terms. The White House and the president’s allies declared that the deal was a victory; Democrats and Trump’s critics had a less rosy take, assessing Trump as having backed down from his threat and the U.S. in a worse position than before the strikes began. Several Republicans also questioned the proposed terms of the deal and if it would be sustainable.

Schumer had reacted to the news by tweeting that he was “glad Trump backed off,” accusing the president of “desperately searching for any sort of exit ramp from his ridiculous bluster.”

Congressional Democrats have been saying for weeks that the strikes against Iran were illegal, and Schumer said during a press event in New York City on Wednesday that they would force a vote on a War Powers Resolution — predicting such a vote would go against Trump — to block the president from additional strikes, reported Huffington Post senior politics reporter Jennifer Bendery.

“Congress must reassert its authority, especially at this dangerous moment,” said Schumer. Bendery reported that he discussed at length multiple ways in which the U.S. is “worse off today” because of the war:

Schumer ticked off all the ways the United States is “worse off today” than it was before Trump started a war with Iran: In the last 39 days, American soldiers have died, gas prices have spiked to $4 a gallon, Iran still has a nuclear stockpile and has gained domination over the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. has lost credibility globally and the military operation has so far cost Americans $44 billion.

“Just incredible,” Schumer added, calling the war “one of the worst military and foreign policy actions the United States has ever taken” and describing Trump as a “military moron.”

Schumer reiterated these remarks in multiple tweets he posted Wednesday, again calling Trump a “military moron” who launched a war “with a price tag of $44 billion and $4+ gas” that “made us worse off today than we were when he started it.”

“And if he restarts this war we will be in even worse shape,” Schumer continued. “We must pass our War Powers Resolution to end this war for good.”

The vote planned for next week would be “the FOURTH time we’ve forced a War Powers vote,” wrote Schumer, urging Republicans to “join [Democrats] in voting to end this war once and for all.”

“Our country is worse off because of Trump’s strategic ineptitude,” he concluded. “Enough is enough. Pass the War Powers Resolution, end the war.”

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