Democratic Sen Mark Warner rejects Trump's 'morality' as guide for military action in Iran

WASHINGTON, DC: Democratic Senator Mark Warner said on Sunday, January 11, that President Donald Trump’s personal sense of "morality" should not be the deciding factor in whether the United States engages in military action abroad, particularly as tensions rise with Iran.

Speaking on CNN’s 'State of the Union', Warner emphasized the constitutional requirement for congressional oversight before deploying force. 

His comments followed a recent interview in which Trump suggested his own judgment was the primary limit on his global authority.

Mark Warner challenges Trump on morality and military force

Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, pushed back on Trump’s assertion that his “morality” alone could restrain him from using American military power.

“We’re depending on Donald Trump’s morality to decide whether we put troops in harm’s way. That is not what our Constitution set up,” Warner said.

“That is why our country was founded on the notion that one individual can’t take our country to war. You’ve got to consult with Congress, which this president has completely blown off throughout his whole first year,” he added.

Trump made the remarks in a wide-ranging interview with The New York Times, published last week, in which he was asked whether there were limits to his global powers.

“Yeah, there is one thing. My own morality. My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me,” Trump reportedly said.

“I don’t need international law. I’m not looking to hurt people,” he added, though he later acknowledged that his administration must still adhere to international law, saying, “It depends what your definition of international law is.” 

Warner said the US should strongly support Iranian civilians but cautioned against unilateral military action.

“I want to know what the president [is] talking about,” Warner said. “Is he simply talking about another airstrike? Is he talking about boots on the ground in Iran to take out military facilities?”

He also warned that the US military was already stretched thin, noting that an aircraft typically stationed in the Middle East was currently deployed near Venezuela.

Mark Warner rejects shutdown over ICE

In the same interview, Warner addressed domestic policy disputes, saying he does not support forcing another government shutdown over demands to restrict Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following a fatal shooting involving an ICE agent in Minneapolis.

“I think we went through the longest government shutdown in American history last year. I don’t think we need to repeat it,” Warner said.

Some progressive Democrats have urged party leaders to draw a “red line” in negotiations over provisions tied to ICE in funding the Department of Homeland Security.

Warner, however, called for advancing bipartisan appropriations bills to “keep the government operating.”

While Warner voted against a GOP-led short-term funding measure last fall, he said there were signs of growing bipartisan cooperation.

He pointed to five Republicans who recently crossed party lines to advance a resolution limiting Trump’s war powers in Venezuela. “Congress has got to provide some level of check on Donald Trump again,” Warner said.