Ready for a pretty good lib smackdown courtesy of Sen. Tom Cotton? If so, keep reading. . .
It all started when Sen. Cotton called out his Dem colleague Sen. Tom Udall after his amendment to a defense bill would in Sen. Cotton’s words, “prohibit American pilots & ships, for example, from returning fire if under attack by Iranian forces”:
Can’t overstate how radical Udall amendment is—it would prohibit American pilots & ships, for example, from returning fire if under attack by Iranian forces. We can’t have 535 commanders-in-chief, or in this case, 535 battalion commanders. https://t.co/j6kAkeFQEJ
— Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) June 25, 2019
The “Udall amendment,” according to Politico, is designed to restrict the president’s ability to take America to war:
The amendment, from Democratic Sens. Tom Udall of New Mexico and Tim Kaine of Virginia, also has support from Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah. It’s the latest attempt to restrict President Donald Trump’s foreign policy powers.
Sen. Udall fired back calling Sen. Cotton’s charge, “false”:
False. The Udall amendment allows force in event of attack on "the U.S., its territories or possessions, or its armed forces” under War Powers Act.
My amendment DOES prohibit war w/o Congress approval. If senators want war, they should call for a vote as the Constitution says. https://t.co/uBknKpoQd6
— Tom Udall (@SenatorTomUdall) June 25, 2019
Oh really? And here’s where Sen. Cotton caught Sen. Udall amending his amendment to fix the error:
0818: You say it’s “false” that your amendment handcuffs POTUS from defending U.S. troops from an Iranian attack.
1154: You introduce an edited amendment that allows POTUS to defend U.S. troops from an Iranian attack.
You wouldn’t have edited your work if I was wrong. Sloppy. https://t.co/U6jGhjx5Yf
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) June 25, 2019
As the kids say, Sen. Cotton brought the receipts:
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) June 25, 2019
Busted.
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