Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday signaled that there will be a rocky path in the upper chamber for a rebuke of President Trump’s military pullout from Syria.
Mr. McConnell called for the Senate to pass “something stronger” than the resolution of disapproval passed by the House and put Democrats on the record supporting a U.S. troop deployment in Syria.
The House resolution, which passed in an overwhelming bipartisan vote Wednesday, was “curiously silent on the issue of whether to actually sustain a U.S. military presence in Syria,” the Kentucky Republican said on the Senate floor.
“Perhaps [it was] to spare Democrats from having to go on the record on this key question,” Mr. McConnell said.
A vote on deploying U.S. troops likely would split Democratic support and potentially doom the measure, preventing Congress from sending a unified message to the president.
Mr. Trump’s abrupt decision to pull out troops from northern Syria opened the door for a Turkish military incursion into the area, setting off deadly clashes with the Kurds.
Senate Democratic Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York urged Mr. McConnell to take up the House-passed resolution.
“We all know there is only one person who can reverse this — the president,” he said in a speech following Mr. McConnell’s remarks. “Let’s put politics aside. Let’s vote on the House bill passed yesterday.”
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
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