Sen. Ernst: Congressional Approval Needed for More Syria Actions

If President Donald Trump wants more military action against Syria, he’s got to come to Congress first, GOP Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa said Sunday.

In an interview on NBC News’ “Meet The Press,” Ernst said the “effort to fight against ISIS in the region … is our main focus,” calling the Syrian civil war “secondary to that.”

“I am uncomfortable going forward if he wishes to commit ground troops in the area,” she said, adding “if he wishes to go any further, he does need to work with Congress. So the air strikes, I'm comfortable at this point.”

“I think we do need to find a way to make sure that Syria is rid of all of its chemical weapons,” she added. “They are not sticking to the chemical weapons convention. We know that for a fact now. So we do need to address the situation, but we need to have a broader discussion” about AUMF — Authorization for Use of Military Force.

“We don’t see that Bashar al-Assad will all of the sudden become a real nice guy,” she said.

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