Here’s some big news today:
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Wednesday announced his support for repealing the 2002 authorization for military force in Iraq almost 20 years after voting for it in Congress.
“I strongly and fully support repealing the authorization for the use of military force in Iraq. This is the first time I’m announcing my support for repeal,” Schumer said in a floor speech, vowing to hold a vote on it this year.
The New York senator, who faces reelection next year, said repeal “will eliminate the danger of a future administration reaching into the legal dustbin to use it as a justification for military adventurism.”
The 2002 authorization for use of military force, or AUMF, gave President George W. Bush approval to invade Iraq, a disastrous conflict that cost countless lives and trillions of dollars. Schumer supported the measure along with 28 other Senate Democrats.
Presidents have used the 2002 authorization ― as well as the original 2001 version that greenlighted the use of force against al Qaeda and other terrorist groups ― expansively to wage war all over the world. For example, President Donald Trump’s administration used it in 2020 to partially justify killing Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani in Iraq.
On Thursday, the House is expected to vote on and pass legislation from Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) to repeal the 2002 AUMF. Lee was the lone vote against the 2001 AUMF following the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
Here’s some more info:
Earlier this week, President Joe Biden came out in support of Lee’s bill, becoming the first president to approve ending the authorization.
In a statement, the White House noted that the U.S. “has no ongoing military activities that rely solely on the 2002 AUMF as a domestic legal basis,” and that getting the law off the books “would likely have minimal impact on current military operations.”
A steady cohort of Democrats and Republicans has pushed for decades to rein in presidential war powers, but administrations of both parties have sternly resisted those efforts. Instead, they've expanded the commander-in-chief’s use of military force without congressional approval.
But proponents of reform gained significant ground earlier this year, when Biden came out in support of their efforts to claw back congressional authority over war powers.
Additionally, Biden has vowed to work with lawmakers to replace the 2001 authorization with one that is better aligned with the current threats in the Middle East. The 2001 measure was passed in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terror attacks and gave the president broad powers to use military force against terrorists in the region. Lee was the only House member who voted against it.
Next week, Schumer said, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will consider a bill to repeal both the 2002 and the 1991 authorizations, the latter of which paved the way for U.S. military action in Iraq during the first Gulf War.
Thank you Senator Schumer. Click here to contact your Senator and tell them you support repealing the 2002 AUMF.