U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) issued the following statement after President Trump launched airstrikes against the Syrian regime, days after a brutal chemical attack on civilians in Douma:

“This administration is commencing military action without seeking congressional authorization. There has not even been an invitation to debate these strikes. What is our strategy? Have we taken Russia’s response into account? We need answers to these questions. Where human lives are at stake we cannot be guided by chaotic instinct.

“The civil war in Syria is one of the great humanitarian disasters of our age. Bashar al-Assad, with the support of Russia and Iran, has shown barbaric cruelty to the Syrian people. We have a legal and a moral right to respond. Any steps that can be taken to end their suffering should be taken, but only with the consent of Congress and a clear long-term strategy.”