US Republicans signal less involvement with Syria as it forges new future

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson says he is following Donald Trump's non-interventionist lead

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson on Capitol Hill. Getty Images / AFP

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President-elect Donald Trump and his Republican allies are signalling that Washington will be less involved in Syria as it navigates its post-Assad future.

The transition from a half-century of Assad family rule in Syria is in its early days after rebel forces ousted the regime in Damascus after 13 years of civil war. Those forces announced on Tuesday that they have appointed former head of Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, Mohammed Al Bashir, as caretaker prime minister until March.

There is much uncertainty, and in Washington, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson told The National Congress is watching events unfold “closely.”

“I'm following the incoming commander in chief's lead on that,” he said on Tuesday on Capitol Hill.

Mr Trump is preparing to re-enter the White House with a fully Republican Congress on January 20. He declared on Saturday that Washington “should have nothing to do” with the events unfolding in Syria, though that was just before the Assad regime had completely collapsed.

“This is not our fight. Let it play out. Do not get involved,” Mr Trump posted on social media as rebel forces entered Damascus.

The sentiment, reaffirmed by Mr Johnson, is at odds with many Republicans on Capitol Hill who have lobbied forcefully for the US to support a democratic Syria. That includes senior members on the powerful House Foreign Affairs Committee, like Middle East subcommittee chairman Joe Wilson, who posed with the free Syrian flag in a photo to celebrate the ousting of Mr Al Assad.

Mr Wilson is among the more traditionally hawkish branch of the Republican Party that has led legislation to increase sanctions against the Assad regime and has defended the Pentagon's anti-ISIS mission in north-east Syria.

But Mr Trump's wing of the party represents a change to a more populist Republican leadership. His incoming vice president, JD Vance, who has lobbied against US funding for Ukraine in its war against Russia, echoed that Syria “is not our fight and we should stay out of it”.

Mr Johnson, emphasised, however, that “we certainly all cheer the fall of the Assad regime, but we want to make sure that new people in charge set up a system of government that is conducive to human rights and all of those things”.

“Lots of delicate situations,” he said.

Geopolitical realities mean the president-elect will almost certainly become involved in what happens next in Syria. During his first term from 2017 and 2021, the Republican tried to withdraw US troops fighting ISIS in north-east Syria, but advisers convinced him not to.

About 900 US troops are based in Syria, supporting partner Syrian Democratic Forces in countering ISIS.

Mr Trump has also controversially nominated former congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard to be his director of National Intelligence. She drew criticism after meeting Mr Al Assad during the violent civil war in 2017.

Among the changes in Washington, conservative hardliner Brian Mast will be assuming the important role of chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee in the new year.

Mr Mast joined more than 250 veterans, including high-profile and nationally known names such as retired Gen Michael Flynn, to defend Ms Gabbard's nomination against mounting scrutiny from both Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill.