'Assad gassing his own people is an issue of our national security,' Pelosi said. Pelosi tells Obama to act on Syria

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi pressed top administration officials Thursday night to take military action to punish Syrian President Bashar Assad in response to reports that he used chemical weapons in his nation’s ongoing civil war.

“It is clear that the American people are weary of war. However, Assad gassing his own people is an issue of our national security, regional stability and global security,” Pelosi said in a statement after the 90-minute conference call with members of the National Security Council and 26 high-ranking lawmakers.


The White House organized the conference call — which was unclassified because of a lack of secure phone lines — at a time when congressional demands for more information on both the intelligence regarding the alleged chemical weapons attack and President Barack Obama’s plans for a military response are growing.

( PHOTOS: International response to Syria)

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) was more measured than Pelosi in his approach, according to Democratic sources familiar with the call. Boehner, along with Pelosi and other lawmakers from both sides of the aisle, emphasized the need for administration officials to continue consulting with Congress —essentially saying Obama would be better served by working harder to win over Congress before launching military strikes.

But then, according to another source, Pelosi shifted gears. Pelosi “said we should do something,” the second source said, adding that Pelosi was advocating “for action.”

Boehner’s office declined to comment for this story.

National Security Adviser Susan Rice, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, Secretary of State John Kerry, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and Sandy Winnefeld, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, represented the administration.

(A lso on POLITICO: The lonely president)

Several party leaders from each chamber joined the call, as did most chairmen and ranking minority members of relevant authorizing and appropriating committees and subcommittees. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell were notably absent from the list of lawmakers released by the White House.

The leaders of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), both endorsed the use of force in Syria in statements released after the call.

But their counterparts on the Armed Services Committee, Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), were less bellicose. Levin said the president should seek international support for a mission against Assad, and Inhofe remains opposed to any intervention.

”As I have said before, no red line should have even been drawn without first preparing a strategic plan and assessing our resources,” Inhofe said.

( Also on POLITICO: Obama weighing Syria response)

The call, part of what the White House describes as “robust” consultation with Congress, included a set of lawmakers who are seemingly much warmer to Obama’s consideration of reprisal strikes against the Assad regime.

Despite the challenges of acquiring lawmakers’ signatures during the August recess, two missives demanding a congressional debate have gained steam in recent days on Capitol Hill. One, spearheaded by Rep. Scott Rigell (R-Va.) and carrying the support of 140 House Republicans and Democrats, demands that the administration seek authorization from Congress before striking Syria. The other, drafted by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and supported by 54 Democrats, urges Obama to come to Congress for approval of military action.

The growing frustration in Congress mirrors that in the British Parliament where a Thursday vote rejected Prime Minister David Cameron’s efforts to join a coalition for the use of force in Syria. But Obama is ready to go it alone if he can’t get international support.

( Also on POLITICO: The ironic war plan)

“The officials made clear that the administration’s focus is on preventing Assad from using chemical weapons again,” a Senate aide told POLITICO. “The administration is figuring out the best way to do that, and is seeking as much international support as possible but won’t let that dictate what our policy will be.”

Manu Raju contributed to this report.

Follow @politico