Some in Congress demand Trump present Syria plan
WASHINGTON — Congressional lawmakers, bitterly divided this week by Supreme Court battles and budgetary issues, are united in calling for President Donald Trump to have a comprehensive Syria policy beyond Thursday’s targeted retaliatory airstrike against Bashar Assad’s regime.
Democrats and Republicans in the House of Representatives and the Senate on Friday praised Trump’s decision to launch more than 50 Tomahawk missiles on a Syrian air base in response to the chemical weapon attack earlier in the week that killed scores of Syrian citizens — an action U.S. officials say was conducted by Assad’s government.
But Trump appears to be on a short leash. Several congressional lawmakers in both parties say he needs to come to them to seek war powers in Syria if he intends further U.S. military action in that war-torn country.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., sent a letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., urging him to call the House back into session to debate and vote on an authorization for the use of military force in Syria.
The House adjourned Thursday for a 21⁄2-week recess. Senators were expected to leave town Friday.
“As heartbreaking as Assad’s chemical weapons attacks on his own people was, the crisis in Syria will not be resolved by one night of airstrikes,” Pelosi said in the letter. “The killing will not stop without a comprehensive political solution to end the violence. The American people are owed a comprehensive strategy with clear objectives to keep our brave men and women in uniform safe and avoid collateral damage to innocent civilians in Syria.”
Ryan’s office rebuffed Pelosi’s call to recall House lawmakers. AshLee Strong, a Ryan spokeswoman, said Thursday’s missile launch “was fully within the president’s authority.”
Strong added, “It is now appropriate for the administration to consult with Congress as it considers next steps to resolve the long-running crisis in Syria.”
Several Republicans echoed Pelosi’s call for congressional authorization for military action in Syria. Among them was Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. “Make no mistake, no matter who is president or what their party is, it is my firm belief that the president needs congressional authorization for military action, as required by the Constitution,” Paul said in a Fox News online editorial piece Friday. “I call on this president to come to Congress for a proper debate over our role in Syria, just as I did in 2013 when President Obama contemplated acting in Syria.”