Schumer says Republicans favor ending Iran war immediately, cites ‘power of the purse’

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) said there will be Senate Republican support for ending the war with Iran as soon as possible and threatened that Democrats will use the “power of the purse” to starve the Defense Department of funding if necessary to bring a swift end to the conflict.

“We are going to end the war. We have some Republicans already who have joined us in ending the war, and the Founding Fathers had the power of the purse as one of the ways of deterring a president who does war without the consent of the American people,” Schumer said at a press conference at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) headquarters in Washington on Wednesday.

Four Republican senators voted with Democrats in support of a war powers resolution directing President Trump to withdraw U.S. troops from hostilities against Iran without a formal authorization for use of military force from Congress.

Republican Sens. Thom Tillis (N.C.), Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), and Rand Paul (Ky.) voted to advance the Iran war powers resolution when it last came to the Senate floor.

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) was on the fence about how to vote but ultimately voted against the measure in late September after huddling with Senate GOP leaders in the Mansfield Room off the Senate floor.

Cassidy voted in support of an Iran war powers resolution in June and then changed his vote after getting in a shouting match with Trump at a private meeting.

But even if the Senate passes a war powers resolution that has the binding force of law, Trump could still veto it and Democrats don’t have the power to override his opposition.

Democrats have more leverage over Trump’s conduct of the war by blocking funding for the Pentagon.

The White House requested nearly $70 billion in emergency funding for the Pentagon in June, a request that has stalled in the face of intense Democratic opposition.

The annual Defense appropriations bill is also stuck.

Democrats are threatening to block the annual Defense authorization bill and Defense appropriations measure as long as the nation is still at war with Iran.

“My own view is that if the war is over, then the opportunity for bipartisanship on defense authorization and defense appropriations is there. I think if the war’s not over it’s going to be extremely difficult,” Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), the next Senate Democratic whip, told reporters several weeks ago.