White House: Obama can intervene in Syria without congressional approval

White House: Obama can intervene in Syria without congressional approval
(Image credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Although President Obama has yet to decide on a course of action in dealing with ISIS' advance into Syria, one thing seems clear: He doesn't think he needs to seek congressional approval, said White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest on Monday. Instead, Congress may be given a "consulting" role.

When Obama was considering military intervention in Syria in 2013, he did subject his plans to congressional vote. However, he stated at the time that he was doing so because "America acts more effectively abroad when we stand together," not because of any legal requirement.

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Bonnie Kristian

Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.