On the Senate floor on Tuesday, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) bashed President Donald Trump and criticized Operation Eric Fury and the War in Iran. <\/p>\n
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): Donald Trump declared in his war, sorry just days ago, Donald Trump declared his war in Iran a, quote, total and complete victory, a hundred percent, no question about it. Again, Donald Trump saying about his war, a total and complete victory, a hundred percent, no question about it. But for the American people, for our troops, for our allies, for our economy, there is nothing but questions about it. In fact, to a majority of Americans, it’s a total disaster. In just about every way, things are worse today than they were before Trump started his war of choice. The straits of Hormuz, worse. Closed, unstable. The Iranian regime, worse. More entrenched, more radical. Gas prices, worse. Over four dollars a gallon. Iran’s nuclear ambitions, worse. They’re still intact. And America’s standing in the world, worse. As the Europeans and our Asian, Middle Eastern allies, and so many others, are very exasperated with Donald Trump and this country right now. So, strait of Hormuz, worse. Iranian regime change, worse. Gas prices, worse. Iran’s nuclear ambition, worse. American credibility, worse. Everything, everything has been made worse by Donald Trump’s war of choice. Donald Trump promised total and complete victory. Instead, he delivered total and complete chaos. That’s not victory, that’s failure. Donald Trump hasn’t even clearly articulated what victory would look like, let alone achieve it. Instead, he has lurched from one reckless idea to the next, with no strategy, no endgame, no coalition of allies. And the consequences, unfortunately, are piling up. Russia’s oil revenues are surging, buoyed by Donald Trump’s decision to ease pressure and destabilize global markets. An adversary that is now, that is fueling the war in Ukraine, is now benefiting from this chaos. And at home, Americans are paying a very high price. Inflation is rising again, driven in part by the spike in energy costs. So, Americans are paying the price there. Mortgage rates are climbing. Consumer confidence has hit record lows. Donald Trump is leading our troops into a literal minefield abroad, and leading American families into an economic minefield here at home. So, let’s call Trump’s Iran policy for what it is. Not Operation Epic Fury. Operation Epic Failure. Operation Epic Failure is a much more appropriate name for Trump’s war of choice. And, 45 days into this war, Congress has been sidelined, because our Republican colleagues refuse to take a strong stand against this war, and duck it completely, because they’re afraid of Trump. No hearings, no oversight, no serious oversight, no accountability. Not one. I say to my Republican friends, this is not how democracy conducts a war. That is not what the Constitution allows. So, if Republicans refuse to do their job, Senate Democrats will force the issue. Under the War Powers Act, we will bring a resolution to the floor this week, led by Senator Tammy Duckworth, a combat veteran who understands the true cost of war far more than Donald Trump ever has. And, we will not stop there. If Republicans block it, we will vote again, and again, and again, every single week, until Operation Epic Failure ends, or Congress does its job and authorizes it. Which I know it won’t, given how bad this war is. Because our troops deserve a mission, not a mess. They deserve a strategy, not chaos. And, they deserve leaders who understand that sending Americans into harm’s way is the most serious decision a nation can make. Our Republican colleagues face a simple choice. Stand with Americans, or stand with Trump’s failed war. Stand with our troops, or keep them in harm’s way without a plan. Stand with the American people, or keep asking them to pay more for gas, more for groceries, and more for a war that has made everything worse. We will keep forcing that choice. We will keep forcing that choice, my Republican colleagues. You won’t be able to keep ducking it. I’d like to thank Senator Kaine for his tremendous leadership on this issue. I’d like to thank Senator Booker and the members of our caucus for working with me to ensure we have these votes week after week, unrelenting, until Republicans are ready to stand up, listen to the pleas of Americans, and do their job. Now, on DHS and the Department of Homeland Security and Reconciliation. And, like Trump’s disasters abroad, Republicans are ignoring their disasters domestically as well. Instead of ending Trump’s disastrous war in Iran, and addressing the affordability crisis that is crushing working families across the country, Republicans continue to sow chaos here at home by keeping the Department of Homeland Security in a state of shutdown. Democrats put forward common-sense, bipartisan reforms to rein in ICE and Border Patrol’s lawless activity. Reforms, I might add, that most Americans support, and that local police departments across the country practice every single day. To be clear, Republicans could open DHS if they wanted to. We also passed twice a bill that would easily fund all of DHS, aside from ICE and CBP. But no, House Republicans would rather bog down the Senate in a partisan clown show with their reconciliation proposal. Why? To placate Stephen Miller and an unelected ideologue that has built a career rooted in cruelty. So let’s be clear what Republicans have chosen. Not a clean funding bill with common-sense reforms. Not bipartisan solutions. Because they can’t support these things. Instead, they fight them because Trump and Stephen Miller forced them to be opposed to the common-sense proposals we have made that most Americans support. Republicans here in the Senate and the House have chosen chaos. They’re dragging the Senate through a painful, arduous, and partisan reconciliation process. Not because it’s the best path, but because they cannot and will not rein in ICE and Border Patrol or stop the violence. They want less accountability, not more, because Donald Trump and Stephen Miller told them so. That is disgraceful, dysfunctional, a disservice to the American people. Americans want ICE and Border Patrol reined in. They do not want to see the Senate give ICE and CBP a blank check so that these rogue agencies can continue to act with impunity, unleashing violence and disorder on our streets. They do not want to see an extremist like Stephen Miller calling the shots on American immigration policy. Instead of listening to Americans, Republicans in the House and Senate are obeying their orders from Trump and Stephen Miller on the SAVE Act and election interference. Perhaps it’s unsurprising that an administration and a party that is so out of touch with the American electorate and so fearful of a November washout would go to such great lengths to rig the rules in their favor. But that’s exactly what Donald Trump and the GOP are doing. Yesterday, the Brennan Center reported that more than half of local elected officials are concerned that political leaders will interfere in their work. We all go to the polls. We see these election workers. They’re dedicated. It’s an act of patriotism when they sit by the polls and count the votes and administer the election fairly. But Donald Trump and the GOP threaten them. I would be worried, too, based on what we’re seeing from Donald Trump’s party, if I were an election official. Apparently the GOP has given up on trying to win over the electorate by delivering results, so they’re instead trying to change the electorate with their SAVE Act. It would kill online mail and motor registration, forcing Americans to drive sometimes hours to register in person. That’s hard and costly in the best of times, but especially when gas is four dollars a gallon. It would purge millions of Americans from the voter rolls. It would make it harder for married women to vote, and it would reject the most common form of IDs Americans use to register. The only thing Republicans are trying to save with this legislation is their own skin in the next election. The only thing they’re trying to save is their own skin, because they know they’re going down to defeat electorally. If the GOP spent the same time and energy trying to deliver for working families as it does trying to rig the rules, maybe Republicans would have a chance. But that’s not what they’re doing, and we’re going to do everything we can to stop this evil act from ever becoming law. I yield the floor.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n