President Trump told Sen. John McCain John Sidney McCainKelly's lead widens to 10 points in Arizona Senate race: poll COVID response shows a way forward on private gun sale checks Trump pulls into must-win Arizona trailing in polls MORE (R-Ariz.) he would consult his national security team about Syria but did not indicate what specific options he is considering, McCain said Thursday.

“He said that he was talking to his military advisers, which is what any president would do,” McCain said, adding that Trump named Defense Secretary James Mattis and national security adviser H.R. McMaster.

McCain said the telephone conversation happened Wednesday morning. Asked what the advisers are recommending to Trump, McCain said, “I don’t know. He hadn’t talked to them when I talked to him.”

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Trump told reporters Thursday afternoon on Air Force One that "something should happen" to Syrian leader Bashar Assad in response to the attack.

CNN reported earlier Thursday that Trump told some members of Congress he is considering military action in retaliation for a chemical attack the U.S. suspects was carried out by the Assad government.

The New York Times also reported on Thursday afternoon that senior Defense Department officials are developing options for a military strike in retaliation for the chemical strike in Syria on Tuesday.

The attack, which Turkey said autopsies confirm was a sarin gas attack, has been described as the worst since 2013. More than 70 people were killed, including children, and scores more were injured.

During a press conference Wednesday afternoon, Trump said the attack “crossed a lot of lines” and that it had caused him to change his approach to Syria, though he refused to say how the U.S. would respond.

The administration's shift on Assad became more apparent Thursday afternoon, when Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said "steps are underway" to remove the Syrian president from power.

The comments came just a week after Tillerson said Assad's fate would be "decided by the Syrian people."

McCain and ally Sen. Lindsey Graham Lindsey Olin GrahamSenate Republicans signal openness to working with Biden Loeffler calls for hearing in wake of Netflix's 'Cuties' Quinnipiac poll shows Graham, Harrison tied in South Carolina Senate race MORE (R-S.C.) have called for an international effort to ground Syrian aircraft.

But McCain said he didn’t bring up that idea during his conversation with Trump because he hadn’t thought about it yet “exactly, specifically.”

“I said, 'Obviously I think we need to act,'” said McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “We don’t need to be Barack Obama Barack Hussein ObamaGOP senator blocks Schumer resolution aimed at Biden probe as tensions run high D-Day for Trump: September 29 Obama says making a voting plan is part of 'how to quarantine successfully' MORE. The worst thing you can do is say you’re going to act and don’t act.”