U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz grabbed a national headline today after telling President Barack Obama he didn’t have the authority to wage war against the Islamic State.

U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz wants the president to ask permission before waging war on ISIS.

PF Bentley/Civil Beat

Schatz, who’s usually a strong supporter of the president’s policies, sent the letter along with U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a progressive Democrat from Wisconsin.

As Huffington Post reports:

Baldwin and Schatz agree with most members of Congress and the administration that the Islamic State threatens U.S. interests, but argue that Obama should stop dithering.

“While we must take action to combat the threat posed by ISIL, we do not believe that you possess sufficient authority to undertake the current U.S. military campaign against ISIL,” the write in their letter, using one of the acronyms for the Islamic State, which is more commonly known as ISIS.

“In addition, we are extremely concerned that the current operation lacks measurable goals, benchmarks of success and a clear scope,” they write. “Therefore, we are writing to request that you immediately submit for Congressional consideration a proposed Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) specific to the war against ISIL.”

What the senators say they fear is another is that without the AUMF the U.S. is “at risk of repeating the mistakes of the past and becoming bogged down in an open-ended conflict.”

You can read the full letter here.