Pelosi, Schumer hit ‘flailing’ Trump over ‘sham ceasefire’ deal

Top congressional Democrats lashed out President Trump for agreeing to drop recently announced sanctions against Turkey as part of a cease-fire 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.”

{mosads}”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. 

Vice President Pence announced on Thursday that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan agreed to halt Turkey’s offensive in northern Syria for 120 hours in order to allow Kurdish forces known as the YPG to evacuate. The agreement will also maintain a “permanent cease-fire” once the evacuation is complete.

In exchange, Trump will lift the sanctions on Turkey he imposed this week and not impose further sanctions, Pence said.

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 cease-fire 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 cease-fire 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 Erdoğan everything he wants.”

“This isn’t a diplomatic victory,” he added. “It’s the capstone on Trump’s abandonment of the Kurds.”