Kaine wants to rein in Trump's war powers, but never did the same for Biden, Obama
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., has time and again pushed to rein in President Donald Trump’s war authorities, but he has rarely gone to the same lengths for his own party’s...
By Fox News · Fox News
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., has time and again pushed to rein in President Donald Trump’s war authorities, but he has rarely gone to the same lengths for his own party’s presidents. Kaine’s argument has stayed fairly consistent over the years that Congress should reassert its constitutional authority and decision-making in the run-up to a military conflict. And he has either led or joined several pushes over Trump’s non-consecutive terms in office to corral his war powers. But he never pulled the same kind of move under former Presidents Barack Obama or Joe Biden , causing Republicans to question whether his desires are politically motivated or genuine. SECRETARY RUBIO SCHEDULED TO FACE FORMER COLLEAGUES ON VENEZUELA POLICY There was not a single war powers resolution filed in the Senate during Obama’s time in office, but Kaine did push back on his expansive use of drones in the Middle East. "I have been as consistent as I can be, because I really got in the way of President Obama when he wanted to use military action in Syria without congressional authorization," Kaine said. "And I told him, you know, ‘You're like my friend. But this is, you know, a basic principle for me.’" His latest push to curb future military action in Venezuela without congressional approval nearly succeeded in the Senate but ultimately was killed through a rare procedural move coupled with an intense pressure campaign from Trump, his administration and Senate Republican leaders. Before the first vote, which saw five Republicans peel from their colleagues to advance the resolution, Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., contended that Kaine’s latest push "does not reassert Congress’ powers." "There are Democrats in this chamber who are using the arrest of Nicolás Maduro not to advance American interests, but to attack President Trump," Barrasso said. KAINE VOWS NEW WAR POWERS FIGHTS AFTER SENATE BLOCKS TRUMP VENEZUELA CHECK And building off Barrasso’s sentiment was a broader argument from se…