The Senate voted on Wednesday to advance a bill that would repeal the authorizations for combat operations in Iraq.
The measure to repeal the authorizations from 1991 and 2002 passed the Senate in a 66–30 vote with 18 Republicans and all present Democrats supporting the measure. It now heads to the GOP-controlled House where its future is uncertain. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) has said he is open to supporting a repeal after previously opposing it, according to the Associated Press.
Republican Senator Todd Young of Indiana and Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia led the effort to repeal the authorizations and argue that allowing them to remain intact invites an opportunity for “potential presidential misuse.”
“It’s long past time for Congress to reassert its war powers,” the pair said in a statement earlier this month. “If our servicemembers have the courage to risk their lives to protect our country, then Congress, by comparison, should be able to make important decisions on matters of war, peace, and diplomacy.”
The measure would end the president’s authority to use force in Iraq but would not impact any current military deployments. Its focus is to return those war powers to Congress.
Sixty-nine lawmakers in the current Congress cast a vote for the 2002 Iraq war authorization, according to the New York Times. Roughly half of those lawmakers supported the authorization at the time. Just 17 of those 69 lawmakers oppose repealing the measure.
“The entire world has changed dramatically since 2002, and it’s time the laws on the books catch up with those changes,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) said on Wednesday. “These AUMFs have outlived their use.”
“War powers belong in the hands of Congress, and so we have an obligation to prevent future presidents from exploiting these AUMFs to bumble us into a new Middle East conflict,” he added.
However, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.), who is still recovering after a fall earlier this month, said he is “opposed to Congress sunsetting any military force authorizations in the Middle East.”
“Our terrorist enemies aren’t sunsetting their war against us,” he said. “And when we deploy our servicemembers in harm’s way, we need to supply them with all the support and legal authorities that we can.”
Successful passage of the bill would mark the first repeal of a war authorization in more than 50 years. President Biden has signaled support for the measure.