The Trump administration has lost the support of at least two Republican senators over how it handled the killing of Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani, after top national security officials failed to tell lawmakers when, if ever, they would notify Congress about future military strikes.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), standing beside Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), lit into Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, CIA Director Gina Haspel, Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark A. Milley on Wednesday, telling reporters they refused to answer specific questions during a closed-door session he described as a “drive-by notification or after-the-fact, lame briefing” that was both “insulting” and “completely unacceptable.”
Several senators tried to press officials on why the administration had not approached Congress to authorize the operation to kill Soleimani, and whether there was any situation in which the Trump administration would see fit to approach Congress in advance of a strike. Continue reading.