WILMINGTON, Del. – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement on today’s vote on the Udall-Kaine amendment. Due to a previously scheduled family obligation, Senator Coons missed the Senate vote on the measure, which was originally scheduled to take place yesterday, but was moved to today. If present, Senator Coons would have voted in support, but his vote would not have changed the outcome.

 “I’ve worked with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to reclaim Congress’ role in decisions of whether or not to use military force, and I’m committed to continuing to work to ensure that President Trump does not inadvertently stumble into what would likely be a long and costly war with Iran. If the President should want to engage in war with Iran, he needs to come before Congress to request permission to use military force and explain his strategy to the American people. I support the measure from Senators Udall, Kaine, Merkley, Paul, Murphy, Durbin, and Lee that would serve as a bipartisan guardrail against the President involving the United States in another war with no long-term strategy in place.”