Reaction from Rep Pelosi And Sen Schumer and several Congressional members was poor. And thing are worse…and they weigh in.
Top congressional Democrats lashed out President Trump for agreeing to drop recently announced sanctions against Turkey as part of a ceasefire agreement announced Thursday.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Trump “is flailing” and that he agreed not to implement sanctions against Turkey for a "sham ceasefire."
“The President’s decision to reverse sanctions against Turkey for brutally attacking our Kurdish partners in exchange for a sham ceasefire seriously undermines the credibility of America’s foreign policy and sends a dangerous message to our allies and adversaries alike that our word cannot be trusted,” the two added in a joint statement.
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The announcement was the latest twist in a days-long political battle between Trump and lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
Members in both parties fiercely criticized his decision earlier this month to pull back U.S. troops from northern Syria, paving the way for the Turkish invasion.
Schumer and Pelosi added on Thursday that Erdoğan had “given up nothing,” while Trump "has given him everything."
“ISIS is still a threat, certainly now more than before President Trump gave Erdogan the green light to invade Syria,” they said.
“The only beneficiaries of the President’s policies are our adversaries: ISIS, Bashar al-Assad, Vladimir Putin and Iran. Today’s decision further makes the argument that President Trump doesn’t see Putin as the danger he is to our country,” they continued.
News of the ceasefire was met with skepticism, and in some cases outright criticism, on Capitol Hill.
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) ripped the administration in a floor speech, adding that the ceasefire was “far from a victory.”
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who introduced a sanctions bill with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) earlier Thursday, pledged that they would continue to push for their bill.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, added that "this essentially gives Erdogan everything he wants."
“This isn’t a diplomatic victory,” he added. "It’s the capstone on Trump’s abandonment of the Kurds."
