Floor Speech Opposing War Powers Resolution

I'd like to take a moment up front to recognize the American heroes who have lost their lives in the line of duty as part of Operation Epic Fury. I extend my deepest condolences and offer my prayers to their families and loved ones.

I also say with absolute confidence: these American heroes will not have given their lives in vain.

For 47 years, Iran's outlaw regime has waged a war of death, destruction, and terror on the United States, our friends, our allies, and indeed the civilized world. And now, after 47 years of indecision and timidity, America has finally put our foot down. President Trump has sent a clear message that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon and they will never be able to threaten the rest of the world again.

It's difficult-in fact, impossible-to overstate just how imminent the threat from Iran was before we took action. But Democrats are now trying to twist this around by claiming the threat we faced wasn't actually imminent at all. However, our top intelligence officials disagree.

Earlier today, I chaired the Intelligence Committee's annual Worldwide Threats Assessment hearing. Director of National Intelligence Gabbard testified that Iran was working to rebuild its nuclear program before Operation Epic Fury. According to her, "Iran was trying to recover from the severe damage to its nuclear infrastructure sustained during the Twelve-Day War and continued to refuse to comply with its nuclear obligations with the IAEA."

But it wasn't only the threat of a nuclear program that hung over our heads; less than one month ago, Iran had thousands of missiles armed and ready to hit our bases and kill Americans as far flung as Western Europe and the Indian Ocean. Thanks to Communist China's help, Iran developed a vast missile arsenal that far exceeded the combined missile defenses of the United States, Israel, and our Arab friends. And it got much worse every single month. According to CIA Director Ratcliffe's testimony during today's hearing, "If left unchecked...they would have the ability to range missiles to the continental U.S."

Given these facts on the ground, we were left with no choice. Iran had already loaded and cocked the gun. What were we supposed to do? Wait until they pulled the trigger? Of course not.

Iran has been an imminent threat to Americans for 47 years. Let's take a look at the record. Was the threat imminent in 1979, in the days before Iran took over our embassy and held dozens of Americans hostage for more than a year? Did Iran pose an imminent threat to more than two hundred Marines before they bombed our barracks in Beirut in 1983? And did thousands of our troops, who were murdered and maimed by Iran's deadly roadside bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan, face an imminent threat from the regime?

I'd say so, as I think any reasonable American would. The threat to Americans was as imminent then as it was before we launched Operation Epic Fury.

From a legal perspective, Operation Epic Fury was well within the president's constitutional authority and duty as commander-in-chief to defend Americans. President Trump's objectives are clear.

First, destroy Iran's vast missile arsenal and make sure Iran can't rebuild it. It's a lot easier to kill the archer on the ground than to shoot his arrows out of the sky. Second, strike at the pillars of the regime that have been propping up terrorist organizations, like Hamas and Hezbollah, and rebels in Yemen for decades. We are no longer chopping off the various heads of the snake so it can grow seven more in its place; we're just going to kill the snake itself. And third, we are going to make sure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon. We will not stop until Iran's hopes for that nuclear weapon are obliterated alongside its nuclear facilities.

Some critics claim that the president has abandoned his principles and promises to put America first. I disagree. President Trump has been consistent in his position that Iran can't have a nuclear weapon. He said this publicly as early as 2014, years before he threw his hat in the ring for president and years before the ayatollahs tried to assassinate him.

Naysayers allege that we are getting involved in another forever war. Let's get something straight: Iran is not Afghanistan, and Iran is not Iraq. While no one has a crystal ball to predict how long military operations might last, President Trump has an exceptional track record of using targeted and discriminate military force to achieve concrete and defined missions.

Other critics have said that Israel forced the U.S. to take military action against Iran. This is a lie, and it is contemptible. First off, I'd say no one drags Donald Trump anywhere. And second, Prime Minister Netananyahu himself knows this well and said as much in an interview with Sean Hannity, who has known the president for decades. In fact, the president himself said he may have forced Israel's hand.

For argument's sake, let's set all of this aside and examine the War Powers Resolution before us today.

Senator Booker's resolution calls for the president to "remove the United States Armed Forces from hostilities within or against" Iran. This resolution would require the president to end highly successful strikes against Iran before our military objectives are fully achieved. Moreover, it would abandon our Israeli friends and leave them in the skies above Iran, alone.

In short, this resolution does more than simply attempt to score political points by condemning President Trump's actions. Its passage would handcuff our military force, leaving our troops in a sitting-duck defensive posture while Iran attempts to rain down terror across the region. At this very moment, Iranian military capabilities are being destroyed. I would suggest it is the height of folly to stop now and give our enemy time to regroup.

For these reasons, I strongly urge my colleagues to reject the War Powers Resolution and instead support President Trump's resolute actions against the ayatollah's regime.

May God bless the president, may He protect our troops, watch over their families, and may He continue to bless the United States of America.