The Biden government has yet to inform senators directly about last week’s air strike on a facility in Syria allegedly used by an Iranian allied militia group, while Democratic lawmakers continue to express anger at the action.
Government officials, instead, offered a briefing to Senate advisers on Tuesday, which Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) Told the Politician that he came to get some justification for the Biden team’s strike.
The Connecticut senator, who serves on the Foreign Affairs Committee, told the media that he was not impressed with what he learned.
“I still need to be convinced that any president has the necessary authorization to carry out a retaliatory attack, especially outside Iraq,” said Murphy, noting that, although outdated, previous authorizations still allow the use of force in Iraq.
“I didn’t hear anything today that convinced me that there was a justification that I would apply to any government,” he continued.
The advisers who participated in the briefing criticized the information they received in a separate reading obtained by the vehicle, writing that management officials provided “unsatisfactory” responses and that “there was not much substance”.
A source familiar with the matter at the National Security Council, which is responsible for such briefings, told the Post that the briefings were offered to lawmakers, but that Capitol leadership instead asked for only team-level presentations to be made. made.
Asked by The Post to comment on the matter, NSC spokeswoman Emily Horne said: “We continue to be pleased to report on this issue at both member and team levels, as requested.”
Concerns about transparency did not come only from Murphy.
Senator Tim Kaine (D-Va.) Said this week he would move to reintroduce his resolution on the powers of war, which was passed at the last Congress, but was vetoed by President Donald Trump.
The resolution restricts the commander-in-chief’s ability to declare war or take military action without Congressional approval.
Kaine, who has long supported Congress to have more say in reducing a president’s ability to wage war, expressed fury after Biden authorized last week’s air strike without notifying Congress or asking for approval.
“The American people deserve to hear the government’s justification for these strikes and its legal justification for taking action without coming to Congress,” he said in a statement at the time.
“Offensive military action without congressional approval is not constitutional in the absence of extraordinary circumstances. Congress must be fully informed on this matter quickly, ”he added.
Asked how to bring his resolution back this week, the 2016 vice presidential candidate reiterated that “I simply believe strongly – and this goes back to the draft Constitution and its early understandings – is that if a president is defending himself against a attack in progress or imminent attack, the president has some unilateral power and that’s a good thing.
“But the idea of offending groups is traditionally where you should be attending Congress.”
Kaine added that he “was not notified” about the attack in Syria, nor “many of the people” in Congress who should have been.
It appears that Kaine’s resolution may have some Democratic support in the House of Representatives, where anger is also palpable among lawmakers.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) Fulminated the strike during an interview with The Hill on Tuesday, saying it “clearly” violated US and international law.
“I’m sure there would have been more outrage, because this is not a closed case,” said Khanna when asked if the reaction to the strike would have been more severe if it had been ordered by Trump.
“My opinion is – and many people in the Democratic Party have said that – that we need to get rid of these endless wars and conflict,” he said. “I don’t see how impressive in Syria Iranian targets achieve this goal.”