Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, broke from his own party Wednesday and announced he’ll side with Democrats in support of a resolution scaling back President Donald Trump’s military powers in Iran.
Lee made the decision after leaving a closed-door briefing with White House officials on the current crisis with the Middle East country. Trump administration officials allegedly tried to dissuade Lee and other lawmakers from debating military action on the Senate floor, according to Lee.
“It’s not acceptable for officials within the executive branch of government to come and tell us we can’t debate and discuss the appropriateness of military intervention against Iran,” he told media after the briefing. “It’s un-American, it’s unconstitutional, and it’s wrong.”
.@SenMikeLee
— CSPAN (@cspan) January 8, 2020
: "It is not acceptable for officials within the executive branch of government…to come in and tell us that we can't debate and discuss the appropriateness of military intervention against Iran. It's un-American. It's unconstitutional and it's wrong." pic.twitter.com/fVSE6b3EM0
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUER in Salt Lake City and KRCC and KUNC in Colorado.
