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Washington • After the U.S. airstrike on a Syrian base, Sens. Mike Lee and Rand Paul want Congress to take up legislation they introduced earlier this year that requires the president to seek approval for any military action for humanitarian purposes.

Lee, R-Utah, and Paul, R-Ky., introduced a bill in February that prohibits the president from sending in troops or firing missiles without congressional approval unless it is to protect U.S. national security. The senators say President Donald Trump's recent action in Syria emphasizes the need for such a law.

"Since the U.S. cruise missile strikes against the Shayrat Air Base in Syria last week, President Trump and several senior administration officials have indicated that the United States may be prompted to act again in retaliation to other attacks against civilians or for broader humanitarian purposes," Lee said in a statement Tuesday.

"While such operations and interventions are well intentioned, recent history has shown they are often risky and may result in unintended consequences that are detrimental to our national security," Lee added. "They should only be undertaken after serious consideration and approval by the elected representatives of the American people, ensuring that public accountability on war-making decisions exists."

While Congress has passed legislation authorizing military actions, the country hasn't formally declared war since World War II, and modern presidents have sent in troops and launched military strikes without seeking approval of Congress.

Lee has long been an advocate of shifting power back to the legislative branch as designed by the nation's founders, rather than giving more and more authority to the president.

Trump's attack on the Syrian base came in response to news that President Bashar al-Assad had used chemical weapons against his own people.

After the Syrian strike, Lee said that Trump owed it to Americans to present a plan to solve the Syrian crisis and to let Congress debate it.