Tea Party Caucus Splits Over Defunding Libyan Military Intervention

WASHINGTON (AP) - The House's tea party caucus is deeply split over whether to defund President Barack Obama's military intervention in Libya.

The 59 Republican caucus members oppose Obama's decision to participate in the NATO-led operation without consulting Congress. But only 31 members of the caucus voted for a bill to strip nearly all funding from American forces engaged there.

Missouri's Todd Aiken said he voted to strip funding for the NATO air campaign because he says U.S. interests are not clearly at stake in Libya. But Indiana's Mike Pence was one of 27 Republicans to vote against cutting off funding to the effort.

Minnesota Representative Michele Bachmann, the caucus' chairwoman and a GOP presidential hopeful, also voted against the spending cutoff. Her office did not respond to a call for comment on Friday.

Bachmann is scheduled to appear on CBS' "Face The Nation" Sunday morning.

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