Gallagher criticizes Trump’s move to pull troops from Syria
Wisconsin Rep. Mike Gallagher on Monday joined a chorus of opposition to President Donald Trump’s decision to pull troops out of northeastern Syria.
The Green Bay Republican was among several members of his party, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who spoke out against the move, which came as Turkey readies a military assault on Kurdish fighters in the region. The U.S. has allied itself with the Kurds in its battle against the Islamic State.
In a tweet Monday, Gallagher, a Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq, said the U.S. needs to work through local allies to “play moneyball” in the Middle East.
“The Kurds have proven themselves to be just that in the fight against ISIS,” he said. “Abandoning them to the increasingly unstable (Turkish President Recep Tayyip) Erdogan undermines our credibility and national security interests.”
Gallagher, who represents Wisconsin’s 8th Congressional District, supports Trump and often votes in line with his interests.
However, the congressman is among a minority of Republicans who have defected from Trump at times since both took office in 2016. Gallagher opposed the president’s efforts to declare a national emergency along the U.S.-Mexico border and lift sanctions on Russian companies. He’s also against giving the executive branch more power to impose tariffs.