GOP senator wants vote before Trump uses force in Syria

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) is urging President Trump to get congressional authorization before he uses military force to respond to an alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria.

“The use of chemical weapons absolutely requires a response from the United States,” Lee said in a statement. “But if that response is going to include military force, the president of the United States should come to Congress and ask for authorization before military force is used.”

{mosads}The administration is weighing how to respond to the attack, which reportedly killed at least 70 people in a town controlled by opponents of Syrian President Bashar Assad. 

On Monday, Defense Secretary James Mattis would not rule out an airstrike in response to the alleged chemical attack. Trump separately said he would decide on the U.S. response “over the next 24 to 48 hours.”