President Donald Trump's surprise announcement declaring victory over ISIS and withdrawing U.S. forces from Syria triggered some blistering criticism from members of his own party on Capitol Hill.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a close Trump ally, said it would be an "Obama-like mistake" to remove American troops, while Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., tweeted withdrawal is a "major blunder" that will "haunt this administration and America for years to come."
Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., derided Trump's declaration of a victory over ISIS, saying it is "simply not true," while Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., who is up for re-election in 2020 in a state that has been trending toward Democrats, pressed Trump to reconsider.
"The U.S. is the only global power able to stop Russia, Iran, & their terrorist proxies in Syria from total control of a region vital to national security," he tweeted.
"We've made significant progress in our fight against ISIS but the fight isn't over, & a US withdrawal will embolden bad actors."
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, meanwhile, told CNN the withdrawal would likely trigger congressional hearings.
"Unfortunately what happens overseas doesn't stay overseas, particularly when it comes to terrorism," Cornyn told CNN. "I think this is going to provoke some hearings and further dialogue to put our collective heads together to figure this out."
According to CNN's Manu Raj, other Senators in the upper chamber are "disappointed, furious, concerned" Trump had not consulted members of Congress and gone through a normal process of letting people know about his decision.
Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., issued a statement also condemning the withdrawal, saying "the losers are Israel, humanitarian victims, and U.S. intelligence gathering."
"A lot of American allies will be slaughtered if this retreat is implemented," he said.
Kinzinger, an Air Force veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, tweeted "Iran is rejoicing right now."
"We left Iraq, and had to come back. I would sure hope the President and his advisers are smarter than this."
In comments to NBC News, Rubio ticked off three reasons why the withdrawal would be a "colossal mistake."
He told the news outlet ISIS has been converted into an insurgency and will be a more powerful one without the U.S. presence, Syria will fall more under the control of Russia and Iran without U.S. forces, and the United States will be more readily seen as an "unreliable ally" by the rest of the world.
"I just think it's a bad decision that eventually will lead to greater risk for the United States," Rubio told the news outlet. "I'm all for peace. I would love to live in a world in which U.S. deployment of service men and women abroad were not necessary. That's not the world we live in."
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