WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement after voting against to an amendment offered by U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) opposing President Trump’s decision to withdraw the remaining U.S. troops in Syria and Afghanistan. Murphy spoke on the U.S. Senate floor about the amendment last week. Murphy is a vocal critic of the Trump administration’s foreign policy and America’s involvement in Syria, but does not believe McConnell’s amendment is the correct way to address the illegal war in Syria. Instead, Murphy called on Congress to reclaim its war-making authority and debate a new Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) regarding America’s involvement in the Middle East.

“This amendment is the absolute wrong way to address President Trump’s backwards foreign policy in the Middle East. It does nothing to address the fact that the war in Syria is illegal, and instead lays the groundwork for a dangerous fight with Iran by asserting that the rationale for our troops’ presence in Syria is to fight the Iranians. We shouldn’t be endorsing an illegal military action in Syria, and then tying the president's hands when it comes to bringing our troops home. Instead, let’s do our job and debate an Authorization of Military Force for U.S. forces in Syria,” said Murphy.

 

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