Democrats blast the president’s terrifying Cuba takeover threat, and they file war powers resolution to prevent Trump from doing another Iran

Senate Democrats have just filed new legislation that would stop the U.S. from going to war with Cuba without getting congressional approval first, as reported by The Hill. This move comes as President Trump has openly threatened a “takeover” of the country, which is pretty wild if you ask me.

Democratic Senators Tim Kaine from Virginia, Ruben Gallego from Arizona, and Adam Schiff from California were the ones who filed this war powers resolution. There’s a chance it could even get a vote by the end of the month, which would be a pretty quick turnaround for something this significant.

The resolution is a direct response to President Trump’s recent comments about the U.S. potentially carrying out a “friendly” or “not friendly takeover” of Cuba. He’s also been predicting the collapse of Cuba’s 67-year communist rule, saying it would happen under pressure from the U.S.

Senator Kaine stated that only Congress has the power to declare war under the Constitution

He pointed out that President Trump, however, seems to operate “with the belief that the U.S. military is a palace guard,” ordering military action in places like the Caribbean, Venezuela, and Iran without congressional authorization or offering any real explanation to the American people. Kaine emphasized that we shouldn’t risk the lives of our sons and daughters at the whims of any one person.

This isn’t the first time Democrats have used war powers resolutions to try and limit or curtail President Trump’s military actions against other countries, including Venezuela and Iran. So far, though, Republicans have mostly stuck with the president, meaning none of these legislations have actually passed. It shows a clear divide in how they view presidential authority in these matters.

Democrats have actually filed five different resolutions already, all aimed at directing the administration to remove U.S. troops from military hostilities against Iran. They’re planning to keep forcing Republicans to repeatedly debate and vote on the conflict on the Senate floor unless they agree to hold public hearings on the conflict. It’s a strategic play to keep the pressure on. Just last week, a resolution sponsored by Kaine to halt military action in Iran failed, with the vote mostly falling along party lines.

Interestingly, President Trump said earlier this week that Secretary of State Marco Rubio was negotiating with Cuba’s leadership. This comes amid an energy crisis in the country, which has been made even worse by a U.S. blockade of the island. Cuban President Manuel Díaz-Canel confirmed on Friday that his government is indeed holding talks with the Trump administration to address “bilateral differences” and identify “areas of cooperation.”