Mattis reportedly wanted congressional approval for Syrian strikes, but was overruled by Trump

James Mattis.
(Image credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

As President Trump prepared to launch airstrikes against Syria last week, he was urged by Defense Secretary James Mattis to get congressional approval first, but the president overruled him, wanting to expeditiously back up his tweets promising action, military and administration officials told The New York Times Tuesday.

Mattis was also concerned that if Trump were too aggressive it would provoke Russia, the Times reports, so they compromised with strikes against three targets, avoiding Russian installations. Officials told the Times that Mattis used to have former National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster act as a buffer in the White House, but John Bolton is now in the role, and he is not expected to defer to the defense secretary.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.