WASHINGTON — Pushing back against congressional criticism, the White House said Wednesday that President Barack Obama had the authority to continue U.S. military action in Libya, even without authorization from lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
In a detailed, 30-page report being sent to Congress, the administration argues that the U.S. has a limited, supporting role in the NATO-led bombing campaign in Libya. Because U.S. forces are not engaged in sustained fighting and there are no U.S. troops on the ground there, the White House says, the president is within his constitutional rights to direct the mission on his own.
The administration’s defense of the Libya mission comes in response to a nonbinding House resolution passed earlier this month that chastised Obama for failing to provide a “compelling rationale” for U.S. involvement in Libya.
The resolution gave the administration until Friday to respond to a series of questions on the mission, including the scope of U.S. military activity, its cost, and its impact on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
It remained to be seen whether the administration’s reasoning would be enough to quell congressional criticism. House and Senate leaders grew frustrated Wednesday when the White House briefed reporters on the report well before sending it to Congress.
Obama did not seek congressional consent before ordering U.S. airstrikes against Moammar Gadhafi’s forces nearly three months ago. Despite that, the White House has maintained that the president is not in violation of the 1973 War Powers Resolution, which prohibits the military from being involved in actions for more than 60 days without congressional authorization, plus a 30-day extension.
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, sent Obama a letter this week stating that the 90-day window runs out Sunday.
However, senior administration officials previewing the report Wednesday said U.S. forces are not involved in the kind of “hostilities” for which the War Powers Resolution says the commander in chief must get congressional approval.
The White House has called the House resolution chiding Obama, as well as a similar resolution in the Senate, unhelpful and unnecessary. The administration much prefers a resolution sponsored by Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and John McCain, R-Ariz., that would signal support for the Libya operation.
A bipartisan group of 10 lawmakers also sued Obama on Wednesday for taking military action against Libya without war authorization from Congress.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said Wednesday that the president expects congressional support for the Libya campaign to continue. With Gadhafi under pressure to leave power, Carney said, now is not the time to send “mixed messages” about U.S. commitment to the mission.
