WASHINGTON (AP) — As President Barack Obama prepares to outline his strategy against the Islamic State group tonight in a speech to the American people, administration officials are still working to win the support of reluctant lawmakers for part of Obama’s plan.
Republicans in the House aren’t yet supporting Obama’s request for approval to train and equip moderate Syrian rebels, and the request wasn’t included in a spending bill that the House is supposed to vote on tomorrow.
It’s not clear whether Republicans are rejecting the request completely or plan to handle it another way. Obama has told lawmakers that he has the authority to proceed with other parts of his plan without their formal approval.
Also left out of the measure was a request to spend up to $2 billion stabilizing the situation in Ukraine, Iraq and other hotspots.
The request for help for the Syrian rebels is expected to be discussed in a closed-door meeting of House Republicans tomorrow. A senior GOP aide says Republican leaders are keeping an open mind on it.
One option might be for the House and Senate to consider the plan separately from the government-wide funding bill.
%@AP Links
APPHOTO WHCD101: In this image made through a window of the Oval Office, President Barack Obama speaks on the phone to Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah from his desk at the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2014, ahead of his address to the nation tonight regarding Iraq and Islamic State group militants. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak) (10 Sep 2014)
< Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
