“Any further action will require close scrutiny by Congress, and any escalation beyond airstrikes or missile strike will require engaging the American people in that decision…”
By NBC4 Washington:
Members of Congress late Thursday took to Twitter to respond to the Trump administration’s decision to fire a barrage of cruise missiles into Syria in retaliation for this week’s gruesome chemical weapons attack against civilians.
Rep. Barbara Lee, D- Calif., called the move an “act of war” and said Congress must meet to debate the Syrian issue.
Meanwhile, U.S. Sen Dick Durbin, D-Ill., released a statement saying that his “preliminary briefing by the White House indicated that this was a measured response to the Syrian nerve gas atrocity. Any further action will require close scrutiny by Congress, and any escalation beyond airstrikes or missile strike will require engaging the American people in that decision.”
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., said he supported the move, adding: “I hope this teaches President Assad not to use chemical weapons again.”
This is an act of war. Congress needs to come back into session & hold a debate. Anything less is an abdication of our responsibility. https://t.co/GvHML3ByeI
— Rep. Barbara Lee (@RepBarbaraLee) April 7, 2017
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said that “by acting decisively against the very facility from which Assad launched his murderous chemical weapons attack, President Trump has made it clear to Assad and those who empower him that the days of committing war crimes with impunity are over.”
U.S. Rep. Brendan F. Boyle, D-Pa., a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, echoed Lee’s call for members of Congress to meet on Syria.
“As our country initiates military action against a foreign country, it is clear that Speaker Ryan must immediately recall members of Congress into an emergency session to debate and vote on our policy toward Syria,” he said.
U.S. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that while he was “encouraged that the Trump Administration has felt compelled to act forcefully in Syria against the Assad regime, I’m gravely concerned that the United States is engaging further militarily in Syria without a well-thought-out, comprehensive plan. Frankly, the President’s actions today generate more questions than answers.”
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