Dems File War Powers Resolution on Cuba03/13 06:30

   Senate Democrats have filed legislation that would prevent the U.S. from 
attacking Cuba without congressional approval as they seek to force a vote on 
President Donald Trump's stated goal of a "takeover" of the Caribbean country.

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- Senate Democrats have filed legislation that would 
prevent the U.S. from attacking Cuba without congressional approval as they 
seek to force a vote on President Donald Trump's stated goal of a "takeover" of 
the Caribbean country.

   Democrats have repeatedly used war powers resolutions to force debate on 
Trump's foreign policy moves, though Republicans have so far mostly backed the 
president. The resolution filed Thursday by Democratic Sens. Tim Kaine, Ruben 
Gallego and Adam Schiff would require the president to remove the military from 
any hostilities with Cuba and could potentially receive a vote by the end of 
the month.

   "Only Congress has the power to declare war under the Constitution, but he 
operates with the belief that the U.S. military is a palace guard, ordering 
military action in the Caribbean, Venezuela, and Iran without Congress' 
authorization or any explanation for his actions to the American people," Kaine 
said in a statement.

   Trump said earlier this week that Secretary of State Marco Rubio was 
negotiating with Cuba's leadership as the country faces a crippling energy 
crisis that has been exacerbated by a U.S. blockade of the island.

   "It may be a friendly takeover, it may not be a friendly takeover," Trump 
told reporters this week at a news conference in Florida. He added that he and 
Rubio would focus on that goal after the war with Iran.

   The U.S. for decades has had a tense relationship with Cuba, but Trump's 
turn to using military action to take out foreign opponents has raised 
anticipations that the island could be next. Rubio, whose family immigrated to 
the U.S. from Cuba in the 1950s, has long pushed for the U.S. to aggressively 
oppose the Caribbean nation's leadership.

   Rubio told senators earlier this year that the Trump administration would 
"love" to see a Cuban regime change, but cautioned that "does not mean we are 
going to provoke it directly." Republicans in Congress have mostly stood behind 
the Trump administration's aggressive foreign policy

   However, Democrats have turned repeatedly to war powers resolutions in order 
to force debates over how Trump can use military force in foreign nations. They 
have not succeeded in passing any of the resolutions so far, but the tactic at 
times has compelled the Trump administration to explain its goals to Congress.

   Democrats are also planning next week to potentially force votes on a series 
of war powers resolutions that apply to Iran unless Republicans agree to hold 
public hearings on the conflict.

   "He ran on America First, but now it's clear he's become a puppet of the war 
hawks in his party," Gallego said in a statement.