“The American people deserve to hear the reasoning of the Administration for these strikes and the legal justification for acting without coming to Congress,” said Kaine, who sits on the Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees. said.
“Offensive military action without congressional approval is not constitutionally absent from extraordinary circumstances,” he added. “Congress needs to be briefed on this matter quickly.”
Murphy, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, added in a statement that “retaliatory attacks, which are not necessary to prevent an imminent threat, are within the definition of an existing authorization of the military force of Congress. must fall. “
“Congress must maintain this administration to the same standard as previous administrations, and demand clear legal justifications for military action, especially within theaters such as Syria, where Congress does not approve of any explicit U.S. military action,” Murphy said.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), A progressive member of the House Armed Services Committee, struck Biden after the attack. Khanna, who introduced legislation to restrict Trump’s ability to take military action against Iran, argued that the Syria strike was ‘absolutely no justification’.
“This makes President Biden the seventh consecutive US president to order strikes in the Middle East,” Khanna lamented.
“We must move out of the Middle East, not escalate. The president must not take these actions without seeking explicit authorization instead of relying on broad, outdated people. [AUMFs], “Khanna said.” I spoke to the endless war with Trump, and I will speak out against it if we have a Democratic president. “
The Pentagon briefed congressional leadership before the attack on Thursday night, a White House National Security Council spokesman said, and government officials continued to brief lawmakers and congressional staff Friday.
The administration will provide lawmakers with a full enclosed briefing early next week, though “it may come sooner than Congress wants it,” the spokesman added.
The spokesman pointed to the “inherent self-defense powers enshrined in our Constitution and the UN Charter”, referring to Biden’s authority to defend the United States under Article II of the Constitution, as well as Article 51 of the UN Charter.
“We have had a rigorous process to include the strikes that have taken place,” the NSC spokesman said. “The strikes were necessary to address the threat and in relation to previous attacks.”
Thursday’s air strike in Syria took place in response to three rocket attacks against US personnel in Iraq within a week. The new US strike was aimed at facilities in eastern Syria used by military groups backed by Iran and linked to the recent attacks on US forces.
Although some lawmakers in both parties saw Biden’s decision as a necessary step to ward off threats by Iran and its proxy in the region, opponents of widespread presidential forces questioned the legal justification for the attack and criticized the new president for carrying out the air strike without consultation. Congress.
Kaine and Murphy have long insisted on revoking the use of military force in 2001 and the authorization in Iraq for 2002 and introducing new guidelines for Congress to approve military action.
In the hours following the air strike, the biggest GOP hawks backed Capitol Hill Biden’s decision.
Senate Armed Services Secretary Republican Jim Inhofe praised Secretary of Defense Biden and Lloyd Austin in a statement, arguing that the government was elected to “continue the approach” introduced by former President Donald Trump.
“Yesterday’s strikes were the correct, proportionate response to protect American lives, and I look forward to more information on the government’s response to Iran’s aggression,” Inhofe said.
Alabama Rep. Mike Rogers, the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, said Biden’s decision “shows that attacks on U.S. personnel and interests will not be tolerated.”
“We have to defend our interests abroad, and I hope the Biden administration continues to apply pressure to ward off future aggression from Iran and its conclusions,” Rogers said.
Natasha Bertrand contributed to this report.