Nation/World

Congress greets Syria strike with mix of applause and anger

WASHINGTON – Congress is greeting Thursday night's missile strikes on a Syrian airfield with a mix of applause and anger, acknowledging the attack as long overdue and necessary but warning President Trump to go through Congress if he wants to repeat or escalate the effort.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., sent House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., a letter early Friday asking him to "call the House back in session immediately to debate any decision to place our men and women in uniform in harm's way."

A spokeswoman for Ryan said Friday there were no planned changes to the congressional schedule.

In the Senate, Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., insisted Friday that the Trump administration "come up with a coherent strategy and consult with Congress."

But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., on Friday commended Trump for his decision to launch the strike in Syria and said he believes that had the authority to do it.

"The strike was well-planned, well-executed [and] was certainly more than a pin-prick," said McConnell. He said it sent a message to U.S. allies that "America is back in terms of playing a leadership role."

McConnell said he would be "interested" in taking a look at a congressional approval for further military action in the form of what is known as an "authorization for use of military force" (AUMF) "if the president feels like he needs it." He said he believes Thursday's strike was aimed at sending Syria a very specific message: "Don't use chemical weapons again."

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The Republican leader said more broadly that he cannot envision a "successful conclusion to the chaos" in Syria with Assad still in power. McConnell later said there were no conversations about coming back during the recess to debate an AUMF for Syria.

But across the Capitol, both Republicans and Democrats are clamoring to assert the legislature's constitutional authority to make war in the face of the Trump White House's unilateral decision to respond to what appears to be a chemical weapons attack in Syria with a barrage of missile strikes.

Senators were to huddle Friday afternoon with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford for a briefing on Syria and expected next steps. But with lawmakers on a two-week break, it is not clear that their consternation will translate into decisive action imminently.

But it is not at all clear whether the Democratic and GOP frustration will result in a real push for an AUMF in Syria – and in particular, against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

After the airstrikes, a number of lawmakers promised to re-introduce AUMF proposals against the Islamic State and al-Qaida in Iraq and Syria. In the House, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., pledged to reintroduce an AUMF proposal he filed last Congress as soon as members return to Washington, D.C. from a two-week recess.

In the Senate, Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Tim Kaine, D-Va., are working up a proposal that, if successful, may bridge the divide between lawmakers who want to restrain the president's ability to put American troops on the ground and the desire of more hawkish lawmakers who want to give the president a longer leash.

The Obama and Trump administrations have carried out the ongoing campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria under AUMFs s from 2001 and 2002 that were adopted for previous wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Many lawmakers believe that is shaky legal ground.

Neither those authorizations, nor any of the AUMF proposals lawmakers are discussing thus far, address hostilities against the Syrian government, which is what the Thursday strike was, in retaliation for an apparent chemical weapons attack on civilians in Khan Sheikoun, involving what appears to be nerve agents.

In 2013, Congress never voted on an effort to authorize force against the Assad regime in the wake of a similar chemical weapons attack in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta.

In the wake of the Trump administration's unilateral strikes, most members of Congress accepted the administration's argument that it was necessary to meet the chemical attack in Syria – for which the Trump administration holds the Assad regime responsible – with some sort of response. But they warned Trump that he is on a short leash, and that any more strikes must be coordinated with Congress.

"American troops met injustice with strength. The use of chemical weapons cannot become normal," Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., said late Thursday night. "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."

Others called on Trump not only to consult Congress, but other countries as well before taking additional steps.

"Building on tonight's credible first step, we must finally learn the lessons of history and ensure that tactical success leads to strategic progress. That means following through with a new, comprehensive strategy in coordination with our allies and partners to end the conflict in Syria," Sens. McCain and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Thursday night in a joint statement.

Should the Trump administration take another step in their absence, it would likely ignite the already-palpable fury of lawmakers who are adamant that Congress must play a role. The frustrations were apparent both among lawmakers who advocate a military response and those who do not.

"Congress will work with the president, but his failure to seek Congressional approval is unlawful," Kaine said in a statement, pointing out that he voted for the 2013 authorization for force in Syria when it came up in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

But bringing together the spectrum of lawmakers to unite around an AUMF will be no easy task, especially when some lawmakers agitating for an authorization are wholly opposed to intervening in Syria.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., stressed in a statement that "the United States was not attacked," insisting on an AUMF but noting that "our prior interventions in this region have done nothing to make us safer and Syria will be no different."

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