For Democrats to have any hope of passing their war powers resolution, they need every Democrat and a handful of Republicans… they have neither.
There are now at least two Democrat senators who will not support the legislation.
And while there is Republican resistance to the strikes, it is not enough to put Dems over the magic number of 60 to pass the bill, and they are nowhere close to having enough votes to override a Trump veto.
The legislation is being presented by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), who is trying to rally enough support to beat the filibuster.
Kaine believes that the administration has no clear picture of the aftermath, but it has laid out its vision.
That is his basis for rejecting this strike, but the endgame is far more complicated than that.
There are never guarantees in war, but that is what it sounds like Kaine wants.
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) is already on record that he will not back the legislation to try to take this power out of Trump’s hands.
He stated, “President Trump has shown time and time again, you NEVER threaten America. God Bless our great troops, God Bless President Trump, and God Bless America.”
He later added, “Committed Democrat here. I’m a hard no. My vote is Operation Epic Fury.”
I thought he would be alone, but he is not.
Now, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), he of the “don’t follow illegal orders” video, says he is not likely to support the legislation.
Kelly stated, “I’m going to have to take a close look at it. I want to hear from the White House what their strategy is going forward. I will say at this point, it’s rather unlikely that I would be [a yes].”
This is a stark contrast to how he has presented himself on this front, having previously attacked Trump and calling out the administration for not seeking congressional approval for these strikes.
Kelly has been all over the place, so don’t get too excited about this just yet. Regardless, Democrats don’t have the numbers, so Trump has a limited window to get this operation wrapped up before he has to worry about Congress.
