Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Friday that President Trump’s strikes against Syria are “appropriate,” but warned that the administration must be careful to avoid a wider war after Syrian President Bashar Assad’s use of chemical weapons on April 7.
“A pinpointed, limited action to punish and hopefully deter Assad from doing this again is appropriate, but the administration has to be careful about not getting us into a greater and more involved war in Syria,” Schumer said in a statement Friday night.
Schumer supported the president’s strikes on Syria last April. Vice President Mike Pence tried to reach Schumer after contacting other congressional leaders, but was unable to while Schumer was on a flight.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., a top Schumer ally, reiterated calls for a new authorization of military force, which she discussed Thursday as Trump pondered his options after the Syrian use of weapons.
“This latest chemical weapons attack against the Syrian people was a brutally inhumane war crime that demands a strong, smart and calculated response,” Pelosi said. “One night of airstrikes is not a substitute for a clear, comprehensive Syria strategy.”
“The President must come to Congress and secure an Authorization for Use of Military Force by proposing a comprehensive strategy with clear objectives that keep our military safe and avoid collateral damage to innocent civilians,” Pelosi added. “President Trump must also hold Putin accountable for his enabling of the Assad regime’s atrocities against the Syrian people.”
Defense Secretary James Mattis said that there would be updates Saturday morning. Gen. Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said operations in the region were over for Friday night.
