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Rand Paul, Mike Lee rip administration over 'insulting and demeaning' Iran briefing | TheHill

posted onJanuary 9, 2020
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Article snippet: GOP Sens. MORE's military powers.  Lee, speaking to reporters after a roughly hourlong closed-door meeting with administration officials, characterized it as "the worst briefing I've seen, at least on a military issue." Defense Secretary MORE and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley were dispatched to brief both the House and Senate on Wednesday amid days of concerns from lawmakers that Trump was on a path to war with Iran, which on Tuesday night launched missiles at Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops.  Lee said the officials warned that Congress would "embolden" Iran if lawmakers debated Trump's war powers. "I find this insulting and demeaning ... to the office that each of the 100 senators in this building happens to hold. I find it insulting and demeaning to the Constitution of the United States," Lee said.  Lee did not say which briefer made the assertion but specified that no administration representative contradicted them. He added that he was going to have a "conversation" with Trump about the remarks. "I find that absolutely insane. I think that's unacceptable," Lee added. Paul added that he found the briefing "less than satisfying" and knocked the administration for using the 2002 war authorization as the basis for last week's airstrike against an Iranian general. "I see no way in the world you could logically argue that an authorization to have war with Saddam Hussein has anything to with having war with people currently in Iraq," Paul told repo... Link to the full article to read more

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