Some reasoned the strike was permitted under the 2001 AUMF that Congress passed after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, although that was aimed at al Qaeda and its affiliates, not the Syrian government.

Others said Trump is authorized to take such a step under Article II the Constitution, which grants the president his commander-in-chief military powers.

“I believe the president does have inherent authority. I think the president should be able to act,” said Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

“The president is commander-in-chief,” said Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). “It’s the same rationale that Ronald Reagan used after there was a bombing of a bar, a disco in Berlin, and he struck Libya. This is not the first time a president of the United States has acted militarily in response to a crisis, and a necessity for us to react.”