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The only Republican in Oregon's seven-person congressional delegation is U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, a fact that left us curious about his opinion of President Obama's decision to back the international no-fly zone over Libya.
Earlier this week, we reported that U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) was among a group of liberal House Democrats critical of Obama. Walden's view of the president's decision from the right is slightly more measured than DeFazio's from the left in which DeFazio said, "The president must immediately convene the Congress and ask for authority under the War Powers Act if he intends to engage U.S.forces in hostile action."
Walden spokesman Andrew Whelan said in an emailed response to WW—after the requisite pledge of support both for U.S. troops and Obama's authority as
Commander-in-Chief—that Walden believes "the
American people deserve to hear from the administration a clear case for this
current engagement."
That echoes House Speaker John Boehner's statement. And Walden's email went on to quote Boehner further, urging Obama to "provide the American people and Congress a clear and robust assessment of the scope, objective, and purpose of our mission in Libya and how it will be achieved."
The unsurprising takeaway? Walden is following his party's line.
WWeek 2015