The Republican chairmen of foreign relations panels in the House and Senate on Thursday advised the Trump administration to work with Congress on its Syria strategy going forward, after the administration launched a military strike on a Syrian airfield.
The strike featured more than 50 cruise missiles and targeted the same airfield that Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad used to carry out chemical attacks against his own people Tuesday. The Pentagon said the military strike was a “proportional response” to Assad’s chemical attack.
Senate Foreign Relations chairman Bob Corker and House Foreign Affairs chairman Ed Royce said the strike was long awaited and decisive, but urged the administration to engage with Congress on such matters in coming months. Trump did not seek congressional approval for the strike. The administration reportedly briefed some members of Congress on the strike.
“Assad has been caught red-handed carrying out another abhorrent chemical attack, and the administration has taken a measured response,” Royce said in a statement. “Moving ahead, the administration must work with Congress and lay out clear policy goals for Syria and the region.”
“I applaud President Trump for taking decisive action following the latest chemical weapons attack,” said Corker in a statement. “As we move forward, it will be important for the administration to engage with Congress and clearly communicate its full strategy to the American people.”
Other Republicans also suggested Trump seek congressional approval.
“Any military action in Syria must be justified as protecting the vital national security interests of America,” said Texas senator Ted Cruz. “I look forward to our Commander-in-Chief making the case to Congress and the American people how we should do so in the days ahead.”
Nebraska senator Ben Sasse urged the president to present a comprehensive Syria strategy to Congress.
“After sending a clear message tonight, the President should propose to Congress a comprehensive strategy to protect American interests from a humanitarian crisis that threatens to destabilize our regional allies and create vacuums for jihadi sanctuaries,” he said.
Non-interventionist Republicans cautioned Trump against using military force without obtaining congressional authorization.
“If the US is to increase use of military force in Syria, we should follow the Constitution and seek the proper authorization from Congress,” Utah senator Mike Lee tweeted.
“The President needs Congressional authorization for military action as required by the Constitution,” Kentucky senator Rand Paul tweeted after the strike.
Arizona senator John McCain, who called on the administration earlier Thursday to lead an international effort to ground Assad’s air force, said that Trump did not need congressional approval to strike Syria following Tuesday’s chemical attack.
Still, he said that Congress needed to update the authorization for use of military force.
“We need an Authorization for Use of Military Force,” he said on Meet the Press Daily. “We got to update it, we got to make it realistic and we got to have Congress, the representatives of the American people, involved in some of these decisions.”
Trump previously warned against military action in Syria and urged then-President Obama to obtain congressional approval before making any such moves.
