WFAA: McCaul calls for U.S. to remove Syria's president

DALLAS – U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, a Republican from Austin who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee, said the United States should lead an effort to remove Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from power.

"Yes, he's been the problem. He's been the magnet for the Sunni extremists coming into Syria. He's been the architect of the civil war. With him in power, we cannot reach a peaceful settlement," said McCaul to WFAA-TV's Inside Texas Politics on Friday. "I think it's time for Assad to go."

McCaul was pressed on whether the U.S. should use diplomacy or its military to remove Assad.

"I think it would be better to be a negotiated political settlement to exile him from power and then put a form of government in place but it's going to take a combination of hard and soft power to accomplish this," he explained. "I think there's an opportunity to work with Russia to remove Assad from power and put a more Democratic form of government in place. It's not going to be easy but we have to resolve this civil war conflict. The former president sat back for four and a half years and allowed this to fester and grow."…

U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth:

"Despite my support for the goals of last night's airstrike, the crisis in Syria will not be resolved by one night of airstrikes. It is imperative that President Trump consults with Congress about the long-term strategy in Syria, the repercussions of last night's actions, and any future planned military operations. With last night's actions, it is urgent that Congress debate the need to update the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) to reflect the global threats abroad. When Congress enacted AUMF in 2001, the world was not operating under the threat of ISIS, Russia's aggression in Europe, provocations by North Korea, and violations of missile treaties. That is why Congress must now debate how these new realities will shape any updated authorizations for future military actions."