Durbin a "no" vote on defense spending bill

KANKAKEE (WBBM Newsradio) -- Illinois' senior U.S. Senator says the ongoing military operation in Iran is starting to remind him of a previous U.S. conflict in the Middle East, and he says the Trump Administration needs to end it.

"I've been through this before," said Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois), recalling the decision by former President George W. Bush to launch military operations in Iraq a generation ago, which he opposed.

"When Presidents get it in their head that they're gonna have a quick war, they're usually just plain wrong," said Sen. Durbin, who's set to retire at the end of the year.

During an appearance Friday morning in Kankakee, Sen. Durbin said the situation in Iran is one reason he's a "no" vote on the National Defense Authorization Act, which narrowly passed the House this week and would authorize $1.15 trillion in defense spending over the next 12 months for, among other things, the Trump Administration's continued operations in Iran.

"I'm not going to support legislation that provides a never-ending war," said Sen. Durbin. "We're in the fifth month of the first year of a never-ending war. This is never supposed to happen, but it is ... and we're paying the price for it at the gasoline pump."