Speaker John Boehner takes questions last week from reporters. Boehner pushed a resolution Friday that demanded more explanation from the White House on its military involvement in Libya and justification within 14 days for continued U.S. airstrikes there.
GOP lawmakers said the party’s shift is not likely to go away anytime soon. When asked if he was surprised so many of his colleagues have come out against the Libyan campaign, anti-war Republican Rep. Walter Jones Jr. (N.C.) said, “No, I’m really not. I think it’s a constitutional concern on the part of my colleagues.”
House leaders acknowledged the shift as well.
“I think there is a growing awareness that, No. 1, we are in a very connected global economy and the economic relationships this country is now involved in in an international way are real,” Majority Leader Eric Cantor (Va.) said Thursday in an interview with Roll Call.
“We’ve got a heavy burden because of the increased complexity, and we really believe that there’s a role for leadership for America to play that doesn’t mean interjecting in every conflict, but it does mean making sure that we are out there protecting the U.S. security interests, which are worldwide,” he said.
On issues like trade and China, Cantor acknowledged his Conference has begun to leave behind the bombastic sort of approach that led to previous episodes, such as the famous renaming of French fries as “freedom fries” in 2003 because of France’s opposition to the war in Iraq.
“I do think there is a sense among our Conference [that] America has a role to play in the world. We’re not the ones to have to pay for everybody’s problem, but certainly because we are so interconnected internationally, we are going to have to grow and protect our interests, which it requires us to engage internationally,” Cantor said.
Top Republicans in the House also have already begun to discuss their next steps on Libya. Rep. Steven LaTourette said the Speaker had already begun discussing what to do after his resolution passed before it came to the floor.
The Ohio Republican, who is close to Boehner, noted that in addition to the Conference meeting Thursday, the Steering Committee and “Team Boehner” also met and discussed the Libya issue.
“We’ve had a lot of conversations,” LaTourette said, but he would not disclose what action House Republicans are planning to take in the coming weeks.
“I think our candid hope is that the president gets us the stuff in 14 days,” he said.
Freshman Rep. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) said there are a “number of ideas” about how House Republicans should proceed.
“The bottom line is this president needs to account for his activities in Libya to provide a clear plan and path forward both to victory as well as withdrawal,” Gardner said.
According to a senior GOP aide, the most likely option is to use the Defense appropriations measure to force the administration’s hand on Libya. In fact, it appears Boehner may have had that solution in mind when he drafted the resolution: The House is expected to take up the spending measure in two weeks, the same amount of time Obama has to provide a justification for the war.
Rep. Bill Cassidy has his blood drawn by Alesha Barbour during a free hepatitis screening in the Rayburn House Office Building hosted by the Congressional Viral Hepatitis Caucus to recognize "National Viral Hepatitis Testing Day."
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