Representative Adam Kinzinger (R., Ill.) has introduced a resolution that would authorize the president to use military force to defend Ukraine in the event of a chemical, biological, or nuclear-weapon attack in Ukraine.
Kinzinger said in a statement announcing the AUMF (authorization for use of military force) resolution yesterday that he was following up on an exchange he had with Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing last week. “After speaking with Secretary Blinken and hearing his grave concerns over Putin’s use of chemical weapons, I’m confident that the United States will show the international community that we will not stand for senseless violence.”
Blinken told Kinzinger during the hearing last week that the U.S. had not been able to verify reports of a potential use of chemical weapons in Ukraine last month.
Per the text of the resolution Kinzinger submitted, the president would be authorized to use military force to defend and restore the territorial integrity of Ukraine after a determination that Russia had used chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons against Ukraine.
“I’m introducing this AUMF as a clear redline so the Administration can take appropriate action should Russia use chemical, biological, and/or nuclear weapons. We must stand up for humanity and we must stand with our allies,” Kinzinger said in the statement introducing the resolution.
President Biden has repeatedly ruled out sending U.S. service members to Ukraine, which he said could start “World War III.”
U.S. officials have warned that Russia might use chemical weapons in Ukraine, and Russia has raised the possibility of using a nuclear weapon in the conflict. President Biden has said that Russia’s use of chemical or biological weapons would trigger a NATO response.
Senator Chris Coons (D., Del.) said last month that the president and Congress should start considering when the U.S. would respond to Russia’s use of such weapons, or a Russian attack on NATO personnel, with a U.S. troop deployment. “If the answer is never, then we are inviting another level of escalation in brutality by Putin,” he said during an event hosted by the University of Michigan.
By introducing an AUMF, Kinzinger has staked out a position that few in Congress are likely to support at this time. In addition to overwhelming bipartisan opposition to sending U.S. forces to Ukraine, there has been widespread congressional support for proposals intended to revoke previous AUMFs, in order to claw back the war powers that had previously been granted to the presidency.