Dozens of House Republicans may oppose a measure to authorize the Obama administration to arm and train Syrian rebels, but GOP critics acknowledge a coalition of Democrats and Republicans will likely pass the legislation this week.
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, told Republicans at a private meeting Tuesday morning that they should support legislation that will give Obama the power to use U.S. military forces to train and equip Syrian rebels in the fight against the terrorist group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
“The Speaker told us that the president needs permission to do this in Syria,” a GOP lawmaker who was in the room said. “He said it’s limited, but that the president really needs this permission. It’s not boots on the ground, and we ought to try to give him that permission.”
A significant number of lawmakers left the meeting saying they will either vote against the resolution or are leaning against supporting it because they believe the president’s proposal lacks the force needed to extinguish the threat of the Islamic State, which is destabilizing parts of the Middle East and has engaged in a campaign of beheading captured Americans and Europeans.
“What we need to do is have a clear, decisive strategy, which we do not have, and a clear outcome of what success looks like,” Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., told the Washington Examiner. “Neither one has been articulated by the president.”
House Budget Committee Chairman and former GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said Republican lawmakers fear the president is not sufficiently serious about tackling the Islamic State.
“I think the concern is whether the president appreciates the situation for what it really is,” Ryan said after the meeting.
Despite Republican objections, GOP leaders believe they have enough support for the Syria resolution to attach it to a must-pass government funding bill. The fiscal year ends at the end of September, and the Republicans have authored legislation to keep the government funded until Dec. 11.
The House will vote on the Syria resolution as an amendment to the funding bill.
Overall, Republicans expect about 60 GOP lawmakers to vote against the Syria resolution and the bill.
“But it could be higher than that,” Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., told the Examiner.
The bill is likely to pass, however, because enough Democrats, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., are likely to back both the Syria resolution and the overall spending bill.
That will allow factions on both sides of the aisle to vote against it without jeopardizing passage.
“I think the leadership must feel pretty comfortable with the combination of Republicans and Democrats, that they are going to be able to get the bill through,” aid Rep. Matt Salmon, R-Ariz., who opposes both measures. “Because there is no pressure on me to come around and vote for it.”
