Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu (Calif.), a frequent critic of President Trump, applauded the president’s decision on Wednesday to withdraw U.S. forces from Syria.
“I applaud the decision by @realDonaldTrump to withdraw US troops from Syria,” Lieu tweeted several hours after the official White House announcement emerged.
{mosads}”Neither the Obama Administration nor the Trump Administration had a strategy,” Lieu added. “Neither Administration could articulate why we were in Syria, what the end state would be, and how we would achieve it.”
Lieu’s tweet came in response to a CNN report that Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) had called the decision a “great disservice” to the U.S.
Multiple top Republicans, including Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), met the U.S. withdrawal from Syria with criticism, with Graham calling it an “Obama-like mistake.”
The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post reported earlier in the day that Trump is planning to remove 2,000 troops from northern Syria immediately.
The White House in a statement said that the administration has “started returning United States troops home,” though U.S. efforts in the region will continue.
“We have started returning United States troops home as we transition to the next phase of this campaign,” the statement said. “The United States and our allies stand ready to re-engage at all levels to defend American interests whenever necessary, and we will continue to work together to deny radical Islamist terrorists territory, funding, support, and any means of infiltrating our borders.”