The House voted this week overwhelmingly to condemn the Trump administration’s decision to pull out of Syria. But Mitch McConnell wants the Senate to pass something “stronger.”
The Senate majority leader said on Thursday that the Senate may take a different approach than the popular House resolution, because the nonbinding resolution does not address “imperiled Sunni Arab and minority Christian communities in Syria” and also doesn’t speak affirmatively on keeping troops in Syria. His statement was effectively a challenge to Democrats that could complicate the ability of one bicameral, bipartisan statement dinging the president’s strategy in the Middle East.
“It’s important we make a strong, forward-looking strategic statement. For that reason, my preference would be for something even stronger than the resolution the House passed yesterday, which has some serious weaknesses,” McConnell said in a Senate floor speech. “It is backward looking and curiously silent on the issue of whether to actually sustain a military presence in Syria, perhaps to spare Democrats from having to go on record on this key question.”
McConnell has repeatedly expressed concern with Turkey’s incursion into Syria since President Donald Trump’s decision to cede ground in the region. But he’s also criticized Democratic presidential candidates and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) for opposing an amendment earlier this year asserting the U.S. should stay in Syria and Afghanistan.
After McConnell’s speech, Schumer advocated for passage of the House resolution rather than trying to write a new one.
“The vast majority of House Republicans, 129 to be exact, condemned the president’s decision on Syria,” Schumer said. “We can quibble about the language, but I have no doubt we can agree on the basic message. We can vote on the Senate resolution today. Time is of the essence.”
Separately, lawmakers in both parties are discussing putting strong congressional sanctions on Turkey. Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) are introducing a bill doing so on Thursday afternoon.
Article originally published on POLITICO Magazine
Source: https://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/17/trump-syria-resolution-049977
Droolin’ Dog sniffed out this story and shared it with you.
The Article Was Written/Published By: Burgess Everett
! #Headlines, #Congress, #Military, #Political, #Politico, #politics, #Syria, #Trending, #Trump, #Newsfeed, #syndicated, news
No comments:
Post a Comment