The Biden administration took heat from fellow Democrats last week after the White House failed to provide a legal justification for an airstrike launched against an Iranian-backed militia in Syria. Democrats Tim Kaine and Chris Murphy argued on Friday that lawmakers needed to know why Biden ordered the attack without consulting them first.
Naturally they didn’t have to try very hard to find any Republican allies on the issue, and now a bipartisan group of Senators is calling for the repeal of presidential war powers granted by Congress in 1991 and 2002.
As Fox News reported:
Senators Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Todd Young, R-Ind., introduced legislation that would formally end congressional authorizations established during the Gulf and Iraq wars, to reaffirm Congress’ role in entering and ending wars.
“Last week’s airstrikes in Syria show that the Executive Branch, regardless of party, will continue to stretch its war powers,” Kaine said in a statement Wednesday. “Congress has a responsibility to not only vote to authorize new military action, but to repeal old authorizations that are no longer necessary.”
The House and Senate passed a similar measure by Kaine last year that aimed to limit President Trumps’ authority in launching military operations against Iran – though the legislation was vetoed.
Other Senators that signed in support of the bill included Democrats Tammy Duckworth and Chris Coons, and Republican Mike Lee.
Sen. Coons explained on Twitter “The recent airstrikes in Syria demonstrate the need to revisit the way in which our leaders collectively choose whether or not to wage war.”
The recent airstrikes in Syria demonstrate the need to revisit the way in which our leaders collectively choose whether or not to wage war.
We should start by removing unnecessary war powers still on the books.https://t.co/EaJdaX3EMJ
— Senator Chris Coons (@ChrisCoons) March 4, 2021
His comments were echoed by Sen. Kaine:
Last week’s airstrikes in Syria show that the Executive Branch—regardless of party—will continue to stretch its war powers. The 1991 and 2002 authorizations for use of military force serve no operational purpose, keep us on permanent war footing, and could allow future misuse. https://t.co/i9XMLD3qeH
— Tim Kaine (@timkaine) March 3, 2021
Just last month Dozens of House Democrats asked Biden to give up his nuclear authority.
That brings us to the obvious question: what do these Democrats know about Biden that we don’t?
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