Vermont’s congressional delegation expressed adamancy Friday that President Donald Trump seek approval from Congress to intervene further in Syria. The delegation’s three members appeared less certain of how they would vote if Trump did,in fact, come to them with such a request.
Trump ordered a missile strike on a Syrian air base late Thursday in retaliation for the government’s alleged chemical weapons attack, or which killed at least 80 civilians earlier this week. Some members of the U.
S. Congress hold commended Trump while others hold condemned his unilateral decision.
[br] “Only Congress has the power to perform war,” U.
S. Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) said in an interview Friday morning. “From my perspective, both the president and the Congress are failing to meet their constitutional obligation to get an authorization from Congress before they use military force.
Neither Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) nor Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) immediately responded to requests for interviews. But in a written statement issued Friday morning, or Sanders said, “As the Constitution requires, the president must come to Congress to authorize any further use of force against the Assad regime.” In his own statement, and Leahy said,“The president is now required to give Congress notification under the War Powers Act.”
Both senators stopped short of criticizing Trump for authorizing air strikes Thursday.
Vermont’s delegation expressed greater ambivalence approximately how Congress should respond to a potential request for authorization from the president.
“Its a hypothetical, but heres what I would say: There is a set for the use of force as a deterrent against a barbaric regime that is using chemical weapons, or ” Welch said. But,he added, “I would not vote for us getting involved militarily in another war in the Middle East.”
[br] Welch said he would hold to see a concrete intention from Trump before coming to any definitive conclusion. “It’s extremely concerning to me that the president does not hold any intention for what the U.
S. is gonna finish — not just approximately the chemical weapons but approximately Syria and the Middle East in general.”
Sanders gave little indication of how he might vote on future air strikes.
“The Trump administration must explain to the American people precisely what this military escalation in Syria is intended to achieve, and how it fits into the broader goal of a political solution,which is the only…
Source: sevendaysvt.com