Congress must take responsibility for military operations, Sen. Angus King, I-Vt., said Wednesday.
"We have troops in something like 170 countries around the world, and there's this slow motion, constant, low level war. We've lost 11 people in Afghanistan this year, 16 in Iraq and now four in Niger," King said on MSNBC's "Andrea Mitchell Reports" program.
"The question is, Congress hasn't authorized any of this. We haven't passed even a bare authorization since the week after Sept. 11," he added.
"We need to have a national conversation about this. If we are going to be in a constant state of low-level warfare all over the world, people need to understand what that commitment is and what the costs are going to be," the senator said.
"It's not a question of this president or the prior president overstepping their bounds or usurping power. In my view, this is a case of Congress absolutely abdicating not only its power, but its responsibility," King said in the interview.
Lawmakers must shoulder the burden of their decisions, he said. "I understand the reluctance to put your hand on something like this and say it's OK or it's not OK. But I don't think we have that luxury. This is a constitutional responsibility," King added.
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