War debate looms for Congress

While there’s appetite in Washington to create a new Authorization for Use of Military Force, or AUMF, that would define the fight against ISIS and enshrine it in legislation, legislators are expected to spar in the coming weeks over the shape of such a measure. Obama sent Congress his draft this week, six months after the U.S.-led coalition began pounding ISIS from the air.

READ: Panetta says U.S. needs to bolster ISIS strategy

“The President has given them a roadmap to follow. They can take that or they can come up with something else, but they can’t take a pass on this important issue,” White House Chief of Staff Dennis McDonough said Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

“IWe should act, not just debate,” Corker said. “Obviously the President sent something over, that’s a beginning point.”

But the debating over the war authorization over the coming weeks won’t just serve to define the scope of military authority Congress wants to hand over to the President. The debates will also give Republicans a platform to slam Obama’s strategy in combating ISIS in Iraq and Syria and to raise questions in public hearings about the state of the fight.

“It’s our goal to have a process that No. 1 determines the threat to our homeland and No. 2, this will be expansively looked at, what is the President’s strategy, especially in Syria,” Corker said. “There’s a lot of skepticism about the administration’s commitment to dealing with ISIS or Daesh or ISIL or whatever you want to call them. That creates a lot of concern.”

CNN