Last night, President Donald Trump authorized a missile strike on a Syrian airbase.
In a statement shortly after the https://youtu.be/yGYZHtfJEYg">strike, Trump cited the Syrian government's alleged use of sarin nerve gas in an attack earlier this week – which left nearly 90 Syrian civilians dead. While the U.S. government hasn't confirmed the use of sarin, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson expressed "very high confidence" the gas was used in the attack.
However, Trump didn't seek congressional approval ahead of the strike and it's likely that members of his administration will have to go before Congress to justify the use of military force.
Below is a running list of where Central Texas representatives stand on the president's action in Syria.
Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas)
“Today, after eight years of Obama foreign policy failures, Syria is a humanitarian disaster. Bashar al-Assad is a monster, a puppet of Russia and Iran, and he has once again used chemical weapons against his own citizens, murdering innocent men, women, and children. “Our prayers are with Assad’s victims, and with the victims of the ISIS and al Qaeda terrorists ripping Syria apart. And, as always, our support and prayers are with the brave Americans in uniform who carried out the military strike tonight. “Any military action in Syria must be justified as protecting the vital national security interests of America – including decisive action to prevent chemical weapons from falling into the hands of radical Islamic terrorists – and I look forward to our Commander-in-Chief making the case to Congress and the American people how we should do so in the days ahead.”
Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas)
.@JohnCornyn: For the last 8 years Obama withdrew us from the international stage, but when we recede, the world is a more dangerous place. pic.twitter.com/onpw2TV1Jn
— FOX & friends (@foxandfriends) April 7, 2017
U.S. Representative Michael McCaul (R-10th District)
“I commend President Trump’s decisive actions in Syria and fundamentally believe that the United States cannot and must not accept the use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime on innocent civilians to become the norm. While the U.S. would prefer a political rather than a military solution to this conflict, the fact remains that you cannot negotiate with tyrants. Passiveness in Syria is what has exacerbated this situation and allowed for adversaries such as Russia and Iran to exert their influence at the expense of U.S. national security, all the while allowing ISIS to flourish. Tonight’s military strikes in Syria are a signal to the world that the days of blank threats are long gone and under this Administration credibility will be restored.”
U.S. Representative Roger Williams (R-25th District)
U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-35th District)
U.S. Representative Lamar Smith (R-21st District)
“All Americans can appreciate the President’s strong leadership in responding to Syria’s government launching a chemical attack on their own people.”
U.S. Representative Bill Flores (R-17th District)
Flores said he supported the president's action on KWTX's James Parker.
I thought the president did the right thing. If you look at what Assad did to his own people, it just goes beyond the pale. And, so, I appreciate what the president did. I wish that we were not in the position where we have to do this, but part of it’s because President Obama declared his famous red line several years ago and then didn’t do anything about it.
We will update this story as we get more reaction from members of Congress.
