WASHINGTON — On the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in 2001, Republicans and Democrats in Congress voiced strong pre-election support today for President Barack Obama’s call for new authority to combat Islamic State militants in the heart of the Middle East.

“We ought to give the president what he’s asking for,” said House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, the top Republican in Congress.

In the frequently-gridlocked Senate, both party’s leaders predicted lawmakers would swing behind the president’s request.

Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said they should give the president “to equip and train Syrian troops to fight these ... evil terrorists.”

His Republican counterpart, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, said: “Over the next week, following a series of briefings, Congress will work with the administration to ensure that our forces have the resources they need to carry out these missions,” he said.

Congress is midway through a two-week session, and the president’s request is an unexpected addition to what had until recently seemed a period devoted to domestic issues such as extending government funding beyond the end of the current budget year.

The likely pre-election votes would occur at a time when public sentiment also appears to be shifting, with polls showing Americans more supportive of military action than they were in the immediate aftermath of the long, deadly wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.