GOP Sen Lee: POTUS Owes Congress a Plan ‘Anytime We Send Our Young Men and Women Into Harm’s Way’

On Friday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) argued that while “the president as commander-in-chief can’t order a direct military operation, a finite operation in time,” “Anytime we send our young men and women into harm’s way, I think the president owes it to the American people to come to Congress and present a plan.”

Lee said, “Anytime we send our young men and women into harm’s way, I think the president owes it to the American people to come to Congress and present a plan. You know, the Constitution, with good reason, says that in order to declare war, you have to go to Congress. We want to hear what the president’s plan is, and have the ability to debate it in front of the American people.”

He added, “[T]hat’s not to say that the president as commander-in-chief can’t order a direct military operation, a finite operation in time, but within a very short period of time, the president’s expected to come to Congress, present a plan, Congress really should declare war, or authorize the use of military force.”

Lee also stated that it was difficult to say whether the strike was a good idea at the time because “The president has access to information the rest of us don’t have. So, it may well be proven out in time that he did the right thing. I just don’t know. We just don’t have all that information.”

When asked if he would support a presidential authorization of a no-fly zone, Lee responded that “I’m not enthusiastic about the idea in the abstract, but if he came with the right plan, and I thought that plan could work, I’d consider it, especially if he can tie it up with American national security.”

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