House Republicans are planning a vote to repeal two laws that authorized military force in the Middle East, amid broader concerns by Democrats and some in the GOP that President Donald Trump is using U.S. troops in inappropriate ways.
The House Rules Committee voted Tuesday to allow debate on an amendment to annual defense policy legislation rescinding the congressional authorizations that in 1991 green-lit military operations against Iraq in the Gulf War and the 2003 invasion that deposed the regime of Saddam Hussein. Critics of the laws argue they rob Congress of its war-declaring authority and allow abuses by the president.
Democrats, especially, point to Trump’s use of the Iraq War authorization to justify a 2020 drone strike that killed Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani in Iraq.
Votes to repeal the authorizations for long-ended wars would prove a small but decisive win for advocates of more congressional control. The move comes as Trump expands the military’s role at home and abroad, including bombing Iranian nuclear facilities, striking an alleged “drug-carrying” boat near the Caribbean and deploying National Guard troops to Washington.
The measure, sponsored by Republicans Chip Roy of Texas and top House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrat Gregory Meeks of New York, has backing from both parties.
“Our bipartisan coalition represents the American people who are tired of forever wars and dropping bombs on other countries without public debate, strategy, or congressional authorization,” Jacobs posted on X about the effort. “We’re on the right side of history and we won’t stop until we repeal these outdated” laws.
Lawmakers plan to begin debating the annual National Defense Authorization Act on Tuesday. The Rules Committee granted nearly 300 amendments, including the proposal.
The House is expected to adopt the measure, which has won bipartisan support in previous sessions. It could also win approval in the Senate, which passed the measure in 2023. But the provision would likely face tougher odds with the upper chamber as it has seen less bipartisan agreement on war powers.
The provision may also complicate negotiations on a final defense bill, which has become law each year for more than six decades. The House could choose to drop the measure in negotiations with the Senate, if the upper chamber pushes back hard on the proposal.
Previous Democratic House majorities voted to repeal both war laws several times, including as part of broader defense bills. But no such measure has cleared the House and Senate to become law.
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