It comes just two days after a bipartisan group of senators, led by Tim Kaine (D-Va.) And Todd Young (R-Ind.), Presented a bill to revoke the 2002 Military Use Permit and one was approved in 1991 before the first Iraq War.
Senators proposed the measure amid bipartisan anger over Biden’s decision to launch retaliatory air strikes against Iran-backed militia groups in Syria last week, without first seeking Congressional approval. The operation frustrated many of Biden’s Hill allies and renewed long-standing concerns among Democrats and Republicans that Congress has abdicated its constitutional role in declaring war and authorizing military operations.
“Tim Kaine was a leader in warpower issues throughout his time in the Senate,” said Psaki in his statement, “and helped build a strong bipartisan coalition that understands the importance of Congress’ constitutional prerogatives.”
A spokesman for Kaine said the senator “is already in a bipartisan discussion with his colleagues and the government”.
“Sen. Kaine believes that President Biden, who has a deep understanding of the responsibilities of Congress and the Executive, is in a unique position to help the United States restore the balance in how we make decisions about war and peace, “said the spokesman.
An ideologically diverse group of senators joined the Kaine-Young effort – a reflection of the fact that controlling the powers of presidential war has long been a bipartisan priority.
His effort comes amid escalating tensions between the United States and Iran; the United States believes an Iran-backed group was responsible for rocket attacks on Wednesday that targeted an Iraqi base that housed American troops.
Still, in the days following Biden’s strikes in Syria, lawmakers questioned the logic of the White House and the legal justification for the attacks. Biden said he ordered the attacks in “self-defense” after Iranian-backed militia groups targeted US forces in the region in recent rocket attacks.
That explanation did not satisfy the leading Democrats, who used the attacks to relive their years-long pressure to reduce the powers of the presidential war.
Kaine, in particular, warned of the potential for an eye-to-an-eye military conflict between the United States and Iran, which could explode into total war. And Democrats more broadly criticized the Biden government for its lack of engagement with Congress in the days following the strikes.
But, unlike previous administrations, the Pentagon did not cite any of the previous war authorizations as legal justifications for the attacks on Syria, signaling that it plans to take a different approach.
Instead, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby pointed to Article II of the Constitution, which grants the commander-in-chief “not just authority, but an obligation to protect American forces”, as well as Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, which grants members the right to self-defense.
However, reaching agreement on a new authorization for the use of military force can be extremely difficult. For example, widely divergent views remain on the scope or duration of a new Congressional war resolution that would cover ongoing combat operations in several places like Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq, including counterterrorism operations in dozens of other countries.
Former President Barack Obama has also proposed replacing current war authorizations, but has failed to reach a bipartisan consensus on the exact contours.