Congress broadly supports President Donald Trump's decision to arm Syrian Kurdish forces despite the expected blowback from Turkey.

Lawmakers laid the groundwork for Trump's May 8 decision to provide weapons to the People's Protection Units, or YPG, when they passed legislation to train and equip Syrian rebel groups fighting the Islamic State (IS) in December 2014. Since then, the YPG has emerged as one of America's most reliable allies as the US-led anti-IS coalition prepares to take back the militants' stronghold of Raqqa in the next few months.

"To me, it's the only viable solution right now," Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, R-Tenn., told reporters on Capitol Hill. "And obviously the Kurds have got to have the weaponry to be successful. So I'm glad they're finally following through on what they've known for some time: This is the only course that appears to be feasible relative to Raqqa."

The move, however, is infuriating to NATO partner Turkey, which views the YPG as an irredentist terrorist group indistinguishable from the Turkey-based Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK. The decision to arm the YPG had long been expected but was postponed until last month's referendum in Turkey to avoid ginning up anti-American sentiment that could have played into President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's bid for more power. In the end, Turks narrowly voted on April 16 to transition from a parliamentary to a presidential system.