Tuesday on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) reacted to President Donald Trump saying during an interview with Hill.TV that he did not need approval from Congress before launching strikes against Iran.
Murphy said, “Well, of course, that’s not true. The Constitution is about as clear as you can be on this question. The president cannot declare war or engage militarily overseas without the authorization of Congress. That’s for good reason. We didn’t want to create an imperial presidency who could bring us in and out of war without consulting the people. And this is the people’s branch of government, the Congress.”
He added, “Yes, the president likely has the ability to strike militarily if he is preventing an imminent attack against the United States but absent that imminent attack, there is no argument that the president can take strikes against Iran or any other country without coming to Congress. And we’re going to try to force a vote on the Senate floor this week to put Republicans and Democrats on record to make that point clear.”
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