US President Donald Trump vetoed a bipartisan congressional resolution Wednesday limiting his ability to carry out military action against Iran, calling it “very insulting.”
Trump fumed against the measure after it cleared both chambers of Congress after he authorized the assassination of Iranian Gen. Qassim Soleimani in early January, an action that put the US and Iran on the brink of all-out war.
“WE LIVE IN A HOSTILE WORLD OF EVOLVING THREATS”
The resolution, Trump said in a statement, “would have greatly harmed the President’s ability to protect the United States, its allies, and its partners. The resolution implies that the President’s constitutional authority to use military force is limited to defense of the United States and its forces against imminent attack. That is incorrect.”
“We live in a hostile world of evolving threats, and the Constitution recognizes that the President must be able to anticipate our adversaries’ next moves and take swift and decisive action in response. That’s what I did!” he said, referring to Soleimani’s killing. “Congress should not have passed this resolution.”