WASHINGTON -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Tuesday that the Senate is still moving forward with a resolution in support of the president's call for military strikes on Syria, but offered no timeline on when a vote may happen.
"It's important we do this well, not quickly," Reid told reporters after a meeting with President Barack Obama and Senate Democrats.
A Senate Democratic leadership aide confirmed that the timing of such a vote is murky: "Nothing planned at this point."
The Senate was originally supposed to vote Wednesday on a resolution to back Obama's call for limited strikes against the Syrian regime, but Reid pulled it from the Senate calendar unexpectedly and said it was better to wait as U.S. officials are now in negotiations with Russia and the international community on a possible diplomatic solution to Syria's reported use of chemical weapons.
Asked whether the president had asked Reid in their meeting to keep working on the resolution or to pause for now, Reid said the president's request was "somewhere in between."
The president "made it very clear that he will act if he must," Reid said. "That's the message he gave us."
Reid said a number of Democrats told Obama they want to tweak the resolution in light of the developments with Russia. Specifically, senators want to add language that would ask the U.N. to pass a resolution saying that Syria used chemical weapons, that would require the U.N. to go in and remove Syria's weapons by a certain date, and finally, if those first two points are not met, would authorize U.S. military force against Syria.
"Maybe it does need some work," Reid said of the resolution, noting that he's spoken with Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and others who are working on adding those changes.
"I'm satisfied" with the work being done on the resolution, he added.
Even though Reid has already said he supports Obama's use of military force in Syria, he said he'd still prefer a diplomatic response.
"I'm not a blood-and-thunder guy," Reid said. But he also said that the U.S. needs to convey a credible military threat to Syria because that's "the only reason" that Russia is even seeking a diplomatic solution.
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