© J. Scott Applewhite/AP Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) meets with reporters before joining congressional leaders at a closed-door security briefing on the rising tensions with Iran, at the U.S. Capitol, on Thursday. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday that she was not informed of President Trump’s plans to strike Iran Thursday night, a military action that he said he called off minutes before it was to occur.
-----------------------------
At a congressional event, Pelosi, second in line to the presidency, was asked if she had been notified by the White House, and she replied, “No.”
Traditionally, House and Senate leadership, and chair and ranking members on the national security-related and other key committees are told about an imminent U.S. military action.
In a statement Friday, Pelosi (D-Calif.) said the United States is “in an extremely dangerous and sensitive situation with Iran. We must calibrate a response that de-escalates and advances American interests, and we must be clear as to what those interests are.”
The speaker added, “we have no illusions about the dangerous conduct of the Iranian regime. This is a dangerous, high-tension situation that requires a strong, smart and strategic approach.”
Senior lawmakers were briefed at the White House about how the United States planned to respond to Iran shooting down an unmanned U.S. drone Thursday afternoon, but no set plans were made at that time.
“During our meeting with the president at the White House, congressional leaders stressed the necessity that we work with our allies and not strengthen the hand of Iran’s hard-liners,” Pelosi said in the statement, adding: “Democratic leaders emphasized that hostilities must not be initiated without the approval of Congress.”
Military action and whether Congress should vote to authorize it have long been a point of contention between Congress and the White House given the constitutionally-mandated authority given to Congress to declare war.
No comments :
Post a Comment