US President Barack Obama. AP
WASHINGTON — Congressional authorization of the US war against Islamic State extremists has gone nowhere in the two weeks since President Barack Obama vowed to coordinate with lawmakers on a stronger legal basis for military action.
Lawmakers of both parties are frustrated. They say the administration hasn’t outlined what it wants from Congress or dispatched top officials to testify. Many challenge the legal justifications for the U.S. intervention in Iraq and Syria even if they support the effort.
Some congressional aides say the inaction means an authorization to fight the Islamic State won’t come this year and it’s unclear when the issue may be taken up in 2015.
Obama believes he already has the necessary legal authority. But after the midterm elections, he said he’d work with Congress on a new authorization.
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