Follow us on social

Shutterstock_1046082265-scaled

Despite chicken littles, Senate votes to repeal war authorizations

The House is expected to follow suit, but the 2001 AUMF for the “global war on terror” remains in effect.

Middle East

The Senate voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to repeal the congressional authorizations for the use of force (AUMFs) in Iraq, marking a major milestone in the years-long battle to rein in presidential war powers.

“Passing this bill is an important step to prevent any president from using these authorizations as a blank check to send servicemembers into harm’s way,” said Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), a sponsor of the bill and long-time backer of repealing the 1991 and 2002 AUMFs, which authorized the first and second Gulf Wars, respectively.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told AP News that the repeal represents “a necessary step to putting these bitter conflicts squarely behind us.” 

With Senate approval, experts say the repeal will almost certainly become law this year. The House is widely expected to pass a corresponding bill in the coming months, and President Joe Biden has promised to sign a repeal if it reaches his desk.

The bill passed in a 66-30 vote, with 18 Republicans joining their Democratic colleagues in voting for the repeal. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) applauded the bill’s passage in a statement Wednesday.

“War is sometimes necessary, but going to war should not be the decision of one person,” Paul wrote on Twitter. “The power to declare war belongs to the American people and their representatives.”

Opponents of the repeal alleged that it would hamper U.S. efforts to counter Iranian influence in Iraq. But New York Times reporter Aaron Blake noted yesterday that such arguments are evidence of “mission creep” given that the AUMF specifically authorizes a response to threats emanating from Iraq — not its neighbors in Iran.

“[I]t’s now Congress’s default approach to outsource to the executive branch the difficult decisions involved in its constitutional war powers,” Blake wrote.

War powers advocates cheered the bill’s passage as a major step toward reasserting lawmakers’ role in decisions about foreign military interventions. 

“Today’s vote begins the process of accountability the war deserved long ago,” Eric Eikenberry of Win Without War wrote in a statement.

Concerned Veterans for America called the vote a "strong first step" in turning the page on endless wars in the Middle East. "Repealing these AUMFs also removes the possibility that they might be abused in the future to take America to war again without congressional approval," said CVA Executive Director Russ Duerstine.

Notably, the Senate voted 86-9 to shoot down an amendment put forth by Sen. Paul that would have also repealed the 2001 AUMF, passed just days after the September 11 attacks. Critics say that authorization is overly vague and easily abused by the executive branch. Recent administrations have cited it to justify America’s continued military presence in Iraq, Syria, Somalia, and numerous other countries.


Photo: Orhan Cam via shutterstock.com
Middle East
Kim Jong Un
Top photo credit: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the construction site of the Ragwon County Offshore Farm, North Korea July 13, 2025. KCNA via REUTERS

Kim Jong Un is nuking up and playing hard to get

Asia-Pacific

President Donald Trump’s second term has so far been a series of “shock and awe” campaigns both at home and abroad. But so far has left North Korea untouched even as it arms for the future.

The president dramatically broke with precedent during his first term, holding two summits as well as a brief meeting at the Demilitarized Zone with the North’s Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un. Unfortunately, engagement crashed and burned in Hanoi. The DPRK then pulled back, essentially severing contact with both the U.S. and South Korea.

keep readingShow less
Why new CENTCOM chief Brad Cooper is as wrong as the old one
Top photo credit: U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Brad Cooper speaks to guests at the IISS Manama Dialogue in Manama, Bahrain, November 17, 2023. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed

Why new CENTCOM chief Brad Cooper is as wrong as the old one

Middle East

If accounts of President Donald Trump’s decision to strike Iranian nuclear facilities this past month are to be believed, the president’s initial impulse to stay out of the Israel-Iran conflict failed to survive the prodding of hawkish advisers, chiefly U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) chief Michael Kurilla.

With Kurilla, an Iran hawk and staunch ally of both the Israeli government and erstwhile national security adviser Mike Waltz, set to leave office this summer, advocates of a more restrained foreign policy may understandably feel like they are out of the woods.

keep readingShow less
Putin Trump
Top photo credit: Vladimir Putin (Office of the President of the Russian Federation) and Donald Trump (US Southern Command photo)

How Trump's 50-day deadline threat against Putin will backfire

Europe

In the first six months of his second term, President Donald Trump has demonstrated his love for three things: deals, tariffs, and ultimatums.

He got to combine these passions during his Oval Office meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Monday. Only moments after the two leaders announced a new plan to get military aid to Ukraine, Trump issued an ominous 50-day deadline for Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to a ceasefire. “We're going to be doing secondary tariffs if we don't have a deal within 50 days,” Trump told the assembled reporters.

keep readingShow less

LATEST

QIOSK

Newsletter

Subscribe now to our weekly round-up and don't miss a beat with your favorite RS contributors and reporters, as well as staff analysis, opinion, and news promoting a positive, non-partisan vision of U.S. foreign policy.