Defense Secretary James Mattis reportedly pushed President Trump to seek congressional approval for last week’s missile strikes against Syria but was overruled.
The New York Times reported Thursday that the Pentagon chief tried to rein in Trump, who wanted a swift and decisive strike against the Syrian regime accused of unleashing another chemical weapons attack on its own people.
In a closed-door White House meeting with defense officials last week, Mattis reportedly cited a need for more evidence that Syrian President Bashar Assad carried out the attack and warned of deepening an armed conflict with Russia.
Friday night’s targeted strike was a compromise between the two view points, but Mattis failed in his push to get an OK from lawmakers beforehand.
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