Rand Paul warns Trump admin after Iran retaliatory strike: War must go through Congress

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) maintained Tuesday night that any military conflict between the U.S. and Iran that escalates to war must be approved by Congress following an Iranian missile attack on an Iraqi air base housing U.S. troops.

“I am praying for the safety of our troops in Iraq tonight. While I would have preferred they come home long ago, there is also no excuse for this action by Iran. We need to stop the escalation before it leads to another endless war in the Middle East,” Paul tweeted Tuesday night.

“In the meantime, the Administration needs to bring any discussion of war with Iran to the American people and their representatives in Congress, as the Constitution requires,” added Paul, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and was one of only two senators, along with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), to vote against imposing new sanctions on Iran in 2017.

In the meantime, the Administration needs to bring any discussion of war with Iran to the American people and their representatives in Congress, as the Constitution requires.

— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) January 8, 2020

The reported attack came days after Iran vowed retaliation for the U.S.’s killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad and a nonbinding vote by Iraq’s parliament expelling foreign troops. Iran vowed for days to retaliate for the killing of Soleimani, which the Trump administration has maintained was a defensive move.