Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), a close ally of President Donald Trump, called for a cautious and deliberate approach to removing sanctions on Syria and emphasized that Congress has a significant oversight role to play, hours after Trump announced he plans to lift “all” U.S. sanctions on Syria.

Graham’s statement on sanctions relief came as he touched down in Turkey for a trip aimed at evaluating the situation in Syria and appeared aimed at pumping the brakes on Trump’s sweeping declaration. Reactions from others on Capitol Hill to the news have been decidedly mixed across both parties.

Graham said that he’s “very inclined to support sanctions relief for Syria under the right conditions,” but also cautioned that the Syrian government took power through force.

“Waiving congressionally passed sanctions is a complicated process. While I would like to empower the new players in Syria, it has to be done in a coordinated fashion with our allies — especially our friends in Israel — so that numerous security concerns can be addressed,” Graham said in the statement.

“This newly formed government in Syria may be a good investment and could be the pathway to unifying Syria, making it a stable part of the region. However, there is a lot that must be learned before making that determination,” he continued. “A stable Syria would be a game changer for the region, but given its past, their progress must be evaluated closely.”

Graham highlighted that Congress has a role to play in any sanctions relief and noted that the administration must submit a report to Congress outlining substantive changes to the situation on the ground in Syria before its designation as a state sponsor of terrorism can be lifted.

“That report has not been received and Congress has the opportunity to review this action if it chooses,” Graham continued. “The designation of Syria as a state sponsor of terrorism has tremendous ramifications apart from the sanctions. I am certain that Congress would need to be informed of changes in conditions placed on Syria and how they have met those conditions before Congress can make an informed decision on whether or not it should approve the change in designation.”

Graham also noted that Israeli officials are “extremely concerned about the state of play in Syria,” and said that he plans to discuss those concerns and keep in close touch with Israeli officials during the trip, “so that we can fully understand the implications of sanctions waivers.”

He noted that attacks on Israel have been launched from Syria in the past. Israel has deployed troops to a buffer zone over the Syrian border and conducted strikes on military infrastructure in the country since the fall of the Assad regime.

Reactions from others on Capitol Hill have been mixed, across both parties.

Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID), the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, who had pushed for phased, conditional sanctions relief for Syria, said he deferred to Trump’s decision on the issue without strongly endorsing it. He said he’d discussed the subject with Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio prior to Trump’s conversation with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.

“It sounded as if they had some negotiations on it. He is the president of the United States and I respect his judgement,” Risch said.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who had joined with Risch in calling for conditional sanctions relief, praised Trump’s decision.

“I commend President Trump’s decision to lift all sanctions on Syria,” Shaheen said. “These sanctions succeeded in their original goal of aiding in the downfall of the brutal Assad regime. I welcome their removal now to give the new Syria a chance to develop into a free and prosperous state independent of the malign influence of Russia, Iran and China.”

She said the U.S. should “move expeditiously” to lift sanctions and “increase our engagement with the Syrian authorities” alongside allies and partners. 

“Stability and security in the heart of the Middle East will pay dividends for U.S. interests and along Syria’s borders, including for our friends in Israel, Lebanon, Türkiye, Iraq and Jordan,” Shaheen continued. “We must do all we can to ensure Syria continues to move in the direction of democracy, stability and security.”

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) fell closer to Graham’s view of the situation, emphasizing that Trump “has to come to Congress” and that sanctions relief should be conditional to achieve concessions from the Syrian government.

“He has no explanation for why he’s just unilaterally surrendering all of this leverage,” Blumenthal said. “For the guy who talks about the art of the deal, he’s gotten nothing for it in the way of any sort of guarantees about what the Syrian government’s going to do.”

He said that whether Congress would repeal the sanctions would depend on what the Syrian government commits to do.

“This regime is basically an unknown — a vast unknown — headed by someone who was regarded as a terrorist until just months ago,” Blumenthal said. “I want some more security guarantees and also other conditions.”