Schumer Says Senate Will Vote on Repealing 2002 Iraq AUMF

Previous attempts to repeal the war authorization failed in the Senate

On Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) expressed his support for repealing the 2002 authorization for the use of military force (AUMF) that was used to invade Iraq in 2003.

“I strongly and fully support repealing the 2002 authorization for the use of military force in Iraq,” Schumer said. “It is my intention as majority leader to bring this matter to a floor vote this year.”

The House is expected to vote on repealing the 2002 AUMF this week, an effort led by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA). Previous efforts to repeal the war authorization made it through the House but failed in the Senate. This time around, it appears the bill will pass both chambers as it has wide support from both Democrats and Republicans.

On Monday, the White House released a statement that said it supports repealing the 2002 AUMF since it would not change current US military operations. The current US wars in the Middle East use the 2001 AUMF, which was passed in the wake of the September 11th attacks.

The 2001 AUMF has been the most abused by US presidents and is used today to fight groups like ISIS that didn’t exist when the authorization was passed. In Congress, most proponents of reining in war powers want the 2001 AUMF to be replaced by a more narrowed-down version instead of repealing it altogether.

The renewed push in Congress to rein in the president’s war powers started in February after President Biden bombed Syria, although Biden did not cite an AUMF to justify the airstrikes. Instead, Biden cited Article II of the Constitution.

The 2002 AUMF was most recently cited by the Trump administration to justify the assassination of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in Baghdad in January 2021 by a US drone strike.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.