Obama faces big challenges
Source: Agencies |
March 25, 2011, Friday
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RETURNING home to some messy politics, US President Barack Obama must contend with a battery of challenges, from a spending standoff that threatens to shut down the government to congressional angst over the US-led war against Libya.
Obama's five-day trip to Brazil, Chile and El Salvador took place just as the United States and allies launched a UN-sanctioned assault against Moammar Gadhafi's government in Libya.
Now lawmakers are questioning the costs and objective of the military action while voicing frustration that Obama did not consult Congress more thoroughly before authorizing the US airstrikes.
Republican Senator John Cornyn encapsulated much Republican sentiment by asking in a tweet: "Is Congress going to assert its constitutional role or be a potted plant?"
No sooner had Obama touched down on US soil late Wednesday afternoon that Republican House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner issued him a letter demanding more details about the steps ahead on Libya.
"I and many other members of the House of Representatives are troubled that US military resources were committed to war without clearly defining for the American people, the Congress, and our troops what the mission in Libya is and what America's role is in achieving that mission," Boehner said.
The criticism comes not only from the right. Liberal Democratic Representative Dennis Kucinich has said he intends to offer legislation to block the US from paying for military actions in Libya.
Federal operations are churning along on another temporary spending bill, this one expiring on April 8. That means Obama has just over two weeks to help broker a deal to keep the government running for the six months left in the budget year.
Obama's five-day trip to Brazil, Chile and El Salvador took place just as the United States and allies launched a UN-sanctioned assault against Moammar Gadhafi's government in Libya.
Now lawmakers are questioning the costs and objective of the military action while voicing frustration that Obama did not consult Congress more thoroughly before authorizing the US airstrikes.
Republican Senator John Cornyn encapsulated much Republican sentiment by asking in a tweet: "Is Congress going to assert its constitutional role or be a potted plant?"
No sooner had Obama touched down on US soil late Wednesday afternoon that Republican House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner issued him a letter demanding more details about the steps ahead on Libya.
"I and many other members of the House of Representatives are troubled that US military resources were committed to war without clearly defining for the American people, the Congress, and our troops what the mission in Libya is and what America's role is in achieving that mission," Boehner said.
The criticism comes not only from the right. Liberal Democratic Representative Dennis Kucinich has said he intends to offer legislation to block the US from paying for military actions in Libya.
Federal operations are churning along on another temporary spending bill, this one expiring on April 8. That means Obama has just over two weeks to help broker a deal to keep the government running for the six months left in the budget year.
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