Liberals press Pelosi, Obama for vote on Syrian air strikes
A growing chorus of liberal Democrats is pushing President Obama to get Congress's explicit approval before launching missile strikes into Syria.
The pressure from supporters on Capitol Hill is not only a headache for Obama, but also puts House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other top Democrats in the difficult position of bucking a broad segment of their own caucus in order to protect an ally in the White House.
Scores of Democrats had signed letters a year ago advocating against military strikes targeting the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad without congressional backing.
Thirteen months later the enemy has a new face, but a large number of those lawmakers say they remain committed to securing Congress's role in deciding matters of war, even as Obama is claiming unilateral authority to expand the fight against militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
A vote is necessary, Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) told The Hill. The president is already empowered to act forcefully against those who murdered Americans, but he should seek congressional authorization to engage in the broader, sustained combat he envisions."
Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) piled on.
It would be very reckless, in my view, for him to go in and start doing all this without getting a vote from the Congress, he told MSNBC recently.
Pelosi, a fierce opponent of the Iraq war under the George W. Bush, has toed the line between the liberal critics and Obama by urging a congressional debate on the use-of-force question, but stopping short of calling for a vote at least for now.
Whether we take a vote or not, we're not at that point because we believe the president has the authority, Pelosi told reportersThursday.
Speaker John Boehner has also avoided calls for a vote on use-of-force authority.
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Liberals press Pelosi, Obama for vote on Syrian air strikes