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U.S. NEWS A3
Saturday 8 April 2017
Trump’s military action unnerves GOP libertarians, Dems
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., center, speaks to reporters following a briefing on Syria on Capitol Hill in who has been pushing for a with.”
Washington, Friday, April 7, 2017. Amid measured support for the U.S. cruise missile attack on a more aggressive approach Trump’s transformation did
Syrian air base, some vocal Republicans and Democrats are reprimanding the White House for to Syria, and Marco Rubio, not sit well with Republi-
launching the strike without first getting congressional approval. R-Fla., also welcomed the can supporters in Congress
military action. and in the media who had
(AP Photo/Susan Walsh) Any attempt by Trump to backed his non-interven-
push a new war powers tionist stances during the
resolution through Con- campaign.
gress would be difficult. Conservative author and
Obama asked lawmakers commentator Ann Coul-
two years ago to formally ter noted on Twitter that
authorize war against the the president had cam-
Islamic State but they nev- paigned on not getting
er acted on the proposal. involved in the Middle East
The Trump administration because it would help en-
had only days earlier sug- emies of the U.S. and lead
gested that Assad’s hold to more refugees.
on power was a political Conservative radio host
reality. And Trump, in a Laura Ingraham, once
December rally in North considered for press sec-
Carolina after his election, retary in the Trump White
vowed that the U.S. would House, tweeted: “Missiles
“stop racing to topple ... flying. Rubio’s happy. Mc-
foreign regimes that we Cain ecstatic. Hillary’s on
know nothing about, that board. A complete policy
we shouldn’t be involved change in 48 hrs.”q
KEN THOMAS come to Congress to get
RICHARD LARDNER authorization for military
Associated Press force.
WASHINGTON (AP) — “The Constitution is very
President Donald Trump’s clear that war originates in
military strike against Syr- the legislature,” said Sen.
ia drew strong pushback Rand Paul, R-Ky., a leader
from an odd mix of liber- of the party’s non-inter-
tarian Republicans, Demo- ventionist wing who chal-
crats and the far-right con- lenged Trump for the GOP
servatives who have long nomination.
insisted on Congress’ con- Paul, who called the Syr-
stitutional authority for acts ia strike unconstitutional,
of war. said Friday before a closed-
Trump burnished an “Amer- door briefing for lawmakers
ica first” foreign policy dur- that they weren’t learning
ing his 2016 campaign, about the intelligence that
warning that rival Hillary led the president to order
Clinton would dangerously the strike until the day after
order U.S. soldiers into in- the missiles were launched.
ternational conflicts. He “You vote before you go
was often critical of former to war, not after you go to
President Barack Obama’s war,” Paul told reporters.
handling of the Syria crisis in Sen. Chris Murphy, D-
2013 and urged him at the Conn., said, “If there’s no
time to seek congressional strategy on Syria, he clearly
approval for any military made this decision based
action. off of an emotional reac-
But the president said Thurs- tion to the images on TV,
day night that the airstrikes and it should worry every-
were in the “vital national one about the quixotic na-
security interest” of the U.S. ture of this administration’s
and accused Syrian Presi- foreign policy.”
dent Bashar Assad of hav- Republican leaders, many
ing “choked” his own citi- of whom back a more
zens in a chemical attack. hawkish view of foreign
Trump’s decision to launch policy, praised Trump’s
the airstrikes on a Syrian actions. Senate Majority
military base represented Leader Mitch McConnell,
an about-face at the start R-Ky., said he supported
of his presidency and an- “both the action and
gered Republicans and objective,” while House
Democrats, who said the Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis.,
Constitution gave Con- called the strike “appropri-
gress sole power to declare ate and just.”
war. They urged Trump to Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz.,
