Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Republican, said Wednesday that President Obama must seek congressional authorization for proposed military action against the Islamic State group.
“Only Congress has the authority to declare war. While our commander in chief has constitutional authority to respond to an imminent danger, Obama has not suggested that is the case,” Mr. Cruz wrote in an op-ed for CNN. “He is reportedly planning a mission that could last as long as three years and may require a range of actions.”
Mr. Cruz said a formal request to Congress would give Americans a clearly defined military objective.
However, he said that any action against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria should not be contingent on any consensus from the international community.
“This mission must be led by the United States if it is to be done right, and we cannot make the assembling of a coalition a higher priority than the execution of our mission,” Mr. Cruz wrote.
• Kellan Howell can be reached at khowell@washingtontimes.com.
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