Today, Senator Kim delivered remarks on the Senate Floor to give voice to the American people and demand the Senate pass Senators Tim Kaine and Rand Paul’s bipartisan War Powers Resolution, which Senator Kim is a co-sponsor of, to end President Trump’s unconstitutional war in Iran.

“Let’s be clear, Donald Trump chose this war – but it was not his choice to make. It is the American people who deserve to have a say; with this vote that we are pushing forward on, not only have we had the opportunity to ensure that the voices of the American people are heard. We have an obligation to ensure that the mistakes of the past are not repeated,” Senator Kim shared.

“We are here to speak on behalf of the American people because the Trump Administration hasn’t been listening to them.”

Watch Senator Kim’s full remarks

Since the first strikes Saturday morning, Senator Kim has echoed Americans’ opposition to President Trump’s unconstitutional war and condemned the administration for taking such military action with no strategy and no sign-off from the American people. Over the weekend, Senator Kim penned an op-ed about the lasting and dangerous consequences of a war in Iran.

Key excerpts of Senator Kim’s remarks as prepared:

“I rise today to give voice to the American people. It’s the American people who have had their sons and daughters sent to war...It’s the American people whose voice has not been listened to as we woke up yet again this weekend to a new war in the Middle East.”

“Madam President, we’ve seen this before. A President manufactures an imminent threat. Chooses to start a war with unclear objectives. And uses America’s “resolve” as an excuse for a war without end because they’ve got no plan to end it. But unlike 2003, President Trump refused to make the case to the American people and refuses to seek approval from Congress for the use of military force as President Bush did in 2003.”

“Donald Trump and his Administration made no serious attempt to find a diplomatic solution to the threat Iran posed to the world...He took no real steps to bring our allies and partners into an effort that could create a safer world without the use of military force. President Trump had no meaningful strategy for pressuring Iran through sanctions that actually targeted the regime, not the Iranian people.”

“This morning, the President refused to rule out the use of American ground troops in Iran. He said, “I don’t have the yips with respect to boots on the ground.” This came after he has said multiple times that he expects servicemembers to be killed in this operation. An open-ended war isn’t just antithetical to what the American people want, it is a dangerous and unpredictable path.”

“Trump’s shifting objectives raises questions about when it will be enough – and whether our military will be back at this again in just a few months, as they are today following the strikes last summer that Trump claimed “obliterated” the nuclear program he now calls a threat. And beyond the near term, this military operation will have lasting consequences even after the bombs stop falling.”

“Donald Trump may think that “might makes right”, but history proves him wrong. We have the benefit of a generation of time from the last time we were in this situation. “Might” may have led to regime change in Iraq, but it made our country less secure by doing lasting damage to America’s reputation and spawning new threats while weakening our ability to engage globally. It led to more than 4,400 Americans killed. And it cost our country trillions of dollars – not just in military spend, but in the cost of caring for the tens of thousands of servicemembers wounded and injured during the war.“