Sen. Lindsey Graham said he intends to offer retired Gen. Jim Mattis a congressional authorization to use military force to stop the North Korea intercontinental ballistic missile program.
Mattis, who President-elect Trump tapped to be the next defense secretary, will testify at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday.
Graham, R-S. C., said stopping the North Korean effort to develop a missile to hit the U. S. should be one of Mattis‘ and Trump’s top priorities.
„I am going to offer to Gen. Mattis on Thursday a congressional authorization to use force to stop the ICBM program from hitting the homeland if they want it. I think every member of Congress should be on the record as to whether or not they support the proposition of using military force if necessary,“ Graham said at an event Tuesday hosted by the U. S. Institute of Peace.
Subscribe today to get intelligence and analysis on defense and national security issues in your Inbox each weekday morning from veteran journalists Jamie McIntyre and Jacqueline Klimas.
If Trump does nothing to stop the ICBM program, Graham said he will have to „own the consequences of letting it go forward. “
After North Korea stated that it plans to test a ballistic intercontinental missile, Trump tweeted this month that „it won’t happen. “
Graham said that he would not have had that conversation on Twitter if he were commander-in-chief.
„Trump has tweeted himself into a red line here,“ he said. „I wouldn’t have done it that way. I’m glad I don’t email or tweet. “
Retired Gen. John Kelly also said that Trump’s long-promised border wall wouldn’t be effective by itself.
During the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Cruz rattled off a number of examples.<\/p>\n