Trump lashes out at lawmakers who voted to rein in his Iran war powers
by Tom Howell Jr. · The Washington TimesPresident Trump on Thursday scolded House lawmakers who voted to rein in his war powers in Iran, calling it a “meaningless” move that undercut his ability to negotiate a peace deal.
Mr. Trump aimed his complaint at Democrats and four Republicans who linked arms to pass the measure, 215-208, to end hostilities.
The president said the late Wednesday vote unfolded “right in the middle of my final negotiations to end the War with the Islamic Republic of Iran.
“Who would do such an unpatriotic thing. They know where the negotiations stand,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The war powers measure is largely symbolic. If it gets through the Senate, Mr. Trump would veto it.
But it could deal a blow to the president’s leverage to negotiate a peace deal with Iran that says the regime cannot have a nuclear weapon.
Mr. Trump is working to approve a memorandum of understanding with Iran that would lift the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports and reopen the Strait of Hormuz while setting the table for final talks over Tehran’s nuclear program.
Negotiations have been rocked by ongoing violence in the Middle East, including Iranian airstrikes on Kuwait and Israel’s incursions into Lebanon, but Mr. Trump says negotiations are on track.
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“I hear the negotiation itself is going very well,” he said on Wednesday in the Oval Office. “It might not happen, who knows. But if it happens, it could happen like over the weekend.”
Mr. Trump said domestic pressure to end the war immediately complicated his position.
“The Democrats are fueled by Trump Derangement Syndrome. They would rather have our Country fail than give me another, of many, victories,” he said Thursday on social media. “The four Republicans, that’s a whole other story - They’re GRANDSTANDERS! They should be ashamed of themselves.”
• Lindsey McPherson contributed to this report.
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