Syrian President Bashar al-Assad cannot be allowed to remain in office, according to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
"I don't see how there can possibly be any settlement in Syria that includes Bashar al Assad," McConnell said at a Friday press conference, according to The Hill.
"I just can't imagine after all the butchering of his own people that he's been doing now for four or five years that there could be any successful conclusion to this chaos with him still there," the Kentucky Republican said at the press conference.
McConnell praised the cruise missile strike on the Syrian air base, The Hill reports.
"The strike was well-planned, well-executed, was certainly more than a pin prick and sends a message not only to Assad that using chemical weapons again is not something he can do with impunity," he said.
During a Friday appearance on "The Hugh Hewitt Show," McConnell said that the missile strike was a statement to America's opponents. "It's a huge message to countries like North Korea and Iran and Russia that the era of American passivity is over,"
Also Friday, the Senate leader commented on the Syria attack in a number of tweets:
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Friday addressed Assad's status himself, saying "steps are under way" to remove Assad.
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