Story highlights Republicans often criticize Obama for overstepping his power

But the GOP says military power is different

John McCain: "The president of the United States is the commander in chief"

Washington (CNN) They're railing against President Barack Obama for going too far on Obamacare and immigration but Republicans are prepared to cede broad authority to the White House to fight ISIS.

It's an interesting theme that's developing as the administration prepares to send Congress a request as soon as Wednesday that would authorize Obama to use military force against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Democrats, wary of another long war, are seeking strict limits on the use of U.S. ground forces. Republicans, meanwhile, are the ones arguing that the commander-in-chief needs room to move as he sees fit.

Arizona GOP Sen. John McCain, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, doesn't want to see any restrictions in the authorization -- meaning no limit on the use of ground troops, the length of time the authorization can remain in force and no restrictions on the geographic area to which the new law would apply.

"If we want to constrain the president's actions, we have the power of the purse," McCain said Tuesday. "The Constitution says the president of the United States is the commander in chief."

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Several other Republican senators speaking in the days before language for the so-called Authorization for the Use of Military Force, or AUMF, was expected to be released by the White House declined to weigh in on what they could support, but emphasized the need to give the White House as much flexibility as needed to wage this fight.

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