President Barack Obama’s announcement Saturday to seek congressional authorization on military action in Syria quickly won praise from Capitol Hill, where frustration had mounted over potential unilateral use of force in response to the escalating crisis.
Still, it is unclear when that authorization vote would occur. Senate leaders are considering coming back to Washington early, according to senior aides. Meanwhile, House Republican leadership said in a joint statement that they expect its chamber to consider an authorization measure the week of Sept. 9, a timeline that would give Obama time to “make his case to Congress and the American people.”
“Under the Constitution, the responsibility to declare war lies with Congress,” said Speaker John Boehner, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, and House Republican Conference Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers. “We are glad the president is seeking authorization for any military action in Syria in response to serious, substantive questions being raised.”
(See POLITICO’s full Syria coverage)
But Senate leaders have made no decision yet, according to aides. The second-ranking Senate Republican, John Cornyn of Texas, has called for senators to return early to Washington to vote on an authorization measure. One top Senate aide said the White House will send the authorization proposal to Congress later Saturday.
An even bigger question: whether any authorization measure would pass Congress. A senior House Democratic aide said “it’s not clear at all” whether the White House would be able to to win authorization of use of force in Syria. But because lawmakers are scattered away from Washington during the annual summer recess, it’s difficult to do a whip count.
And given the sensitivity of the issue, is highly unlikely Boehner’s leadership team will weigh in and pressure people to vote a certain way — meaning the White House will have to whip the vote themselves.
Obama said in his Rose Garden statement that his decision to seek congressional approval had backing from the top four congressional leaders.
“The president’s role as commander-in-chief is always strengthened when he enjoys the expressed support of the Congress,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said in a statement.
Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), the ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also said he was “very pleased” with Obama’s decision to seek Congress’s approval.
”At this point in our country’s history, this is absolutely the right decision, and I look forward to seeing what the Administration brings forward and to a vigorous debate on this important authorization,” Corker said. “Further, now that the president has decided to use force and seek authorization, it is imperative that he immediately begins using every ounce of his energy to make his case to the American people.
And Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said he “strongly supported” the president’s decision.
“The opportunity to fully debate this difficult situation will help educate the American public about the important issues at stake and ultimately provide a political consensus that our servicemembers must be able to rely on,” he said in a statement.
New York Rep. Eliot Engel, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, urged Boehner to call the House back into session “immediately.”
“The president has laid out a strong and convincing case to the American people for action in Syria,” Engel said. “However, I understand his desire to seek explicit authorization to do so from Congress.
Others criticized Obama’s move. New York Rep. Peter King, the hawkish Republican who formerly chaired the House Homeland Security Committee, said in a statement that Obama was “abdicating his responsibility as commander-in-chief and undermining the authority of future presidents.”
“The President does not need Congress to authorize a strike on Syria,” King said. “If Assad’s use of chemical weapons against civilians deserves a military response, and I believe it does, and if the President is seeking congressional approval, then he should call Congress back into a special session at the earliest date. The President doesn’t need 535 Members of Congress to enforce his own red line.”
Syria decision sparks confusion
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