John McCain: Don't handcuff president
Sen. John McCain said Sunday he opposes any ISIL war resolution that puts limits on the power of the president, saying on âMeet the Pressâ that such restrictions were âunconstitutional.â âTo restrain him in our authorization of him taking military action, I think, frankly, is unconstitutional and eventually leads to 535 commanders in chief,â the Arizona Republican told host Chuck Todd. Story Continued Below McCainâs remarks highlight the delicate line the Obama administration has been walking in developing and selling an authorization of military power against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, between those who fear Congress would be granting President Barack Obama too much power and those who fear Congress would be improperly handcuffing the president. On ABCâs âThis Week,â Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) spoke for the former group, saying it was âvery important to not write another blank check.â âThis authorization goes beyond the term of this president â we donât know who the next president will be or what their intentions will be,â Schiff told Jon Karl. âAnd the problem with writing something so broad, that has no sunset date, no geographic limitations â¦ but some of my colleagues are advocating for no sunset date.â McCain, calling the presidentâs policy both inadequate and convoluted, has frequently criticized Obama for his handling of the situation in the Middle East â he did so again Sunday â but he made it clear that he believes Congress had no business putting limits on the nationâs commander in chief. âI think we should not restrain the president of the United States. The Congress has the power of the purse. If we donât like what the commander in chief is doing, we can cut off his funds for doing so,â McCain said. Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), McCainâs colleague on the Senate Armed Services Committee, agreed with him about restricting the authorization to three years. âWe donât want to send a signal to the world that weâre there for just so many years,â he told Todd. Reed added: âI think we would be better off having a resolution that did not have a specific time limit. I do think, though, it does make sense to indicate very strongly that our engagement would be limited in terms of American military personnel. And that, I think, is included within the resolution.â