Sens. John McCain
John Sidney McCainEx-McSally aide pleads guilty to stealing over 0K in campaign funds DOJ: Arizona recount could violate civil rights laws Cheney fight stokes cries of GOP double standard for women MORE (R-Ariz.) and Lindsey Graham
Lindsey Olin GrahamLindsey Graham: GOP can't 'move forward without President Trump' House to advance appropriations bills in June, July The unflappable Liz Cheney: Why Trump Republicans have struggled to crush her MORE (R-S.C.) applauded President Trump for launching airstrikes in Syria on Thursday, saying he “confronted a pivotal moment” unlike former President Barack Obama
Barack Hussein ObamaCensus results show White House doubling down on failure Gender politics hound GOP in Cheney drama Never underestimate Joe Biden MORE.
“Unlike the previous administration, President Trump confronted a pivotal moment in Syria and took action,” they said in a joint statement. “For that, he deserves the support of the American people.”
Trump on Thursday ordered missiles fired at a Syrian air base in response to a chemical attack officials say Syrian President Bashar Assad launched that killed more than 70 civilians.
The decision to take military action against Assad is a dramatic escalation in U.S. involvement in the 6-year-old civil war, which the U.S. military has never directly intervened in. It was also a notable departure for Trump, who has said he didn't want to pull the U.S. deeper into the conflict.
McCain, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Graham, a committee member and close McCain ally, had earlier Thursday urged action to ground the Syrian air force, including striking airfields.
On Thursday night, after the strikes, they said the action sent an important message.
“We salute the skill and professionalism of the U.S. Armed Forces who carried out tonight’s strikes in Syria,” they said in a written statement. “Acting on the orders of their commander-in-chief, they have sent an important message the United States will no longer stand idly by as Assad ... slaughters innocent Syrians with chemical weapons and barrel bombs.”
They also urged Trump to build on Thursday’s strikes to create a new strategy for Syria and continue work to completely ground Assad’s air force.
“The first measure in such a strategy must be to take Assad’s air force — which is responsible not just for the latest chemical weapons attack, but countless atrocities against the Syrian people — completely out of the fight,” they said.
Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, also issued a brief statement Thursday night supporting the strikes.
"I support the President's decision to take military action in Syria,” he wrote. “My hope is that this action will help deter future atrocities by the Assad regime."
