Ohio's Republican Senator, Rob Portman, says he backs the effort. In a conference call with reporters, he said there's no need now to send American ground troops back to Iraq.
"We should be doing what I wish we had done already, which is to have the ability to help train up local forces who have a strong interest in addressing this threat, specifically the Iraqi military, of course…but they're also assisted by Kurdish fighters," Portman said. "They needed heavy equipment to be able to deal with the ISIS threat, and they needed help from the air. We've provided some of that now."
Portman said he also supports stepping up aid to anti-ISIS Syrian rebels.
Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown meanwhile said in a statement to the Associated Press that he was awaiting more information after Obama "outlined the importance of developing and implementing a comprehensive strategy that addresses the threat posed by ISIS."
Asked about a report by the New York Times that intelligence analysts are questioning whether ISIS poses an immediate threat to the U.S., Portman said the country should still move to strike ISIS.
"There may not be an immediate plot that our intelligence community can point to," he said. "But if we don't address this, it will get worse. And I think we have to not be naïve about it. And we have to look at their own threats against the West, and for that matter against other countries in the Middle East."
