A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers voted to repeal the decadesold laws that authorized the U.S. to go to war in the Middle East.
Lawmakers, in a 261-167 vote, approved an amendment to major defense legislation that would rescind the war powers laws — which passed in the run-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the 1991 Gulf War.
The vote is a small win for war powers advocates, who contend the laws need to go to prevent abuses of presidential power and reclaim Congress’ authority over use of the military.
But the House defense bill won’t address broader concerns that President Donald Trump is freely wielding military force, including a strike last week on a suspected drug-smuggling vessel in the Caribbean.
The rollback will tower over negotiations between the House and Senate on a compromise defense policy bill. Both chambers have voted to repeal the Iraq War authorization in recent years under Democratic leadership, although no legislation has ever been enacted.
The amendment — sponsored by conservative Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and House Foreign Affairs ranking member Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), along with other lawmakers in both parties — won the support of 49 Republicans and 212 Democrats.
The measure had an unlikely path to passage. The proposal was initially left out of a package of amendments to the defense bill proposed by the House Rules Committee. But Democrats won an incredibly rare vote in the committee to secure a debate on it. Reps. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), Morgan Griffith (R-Va.) and Roy broke ranks with fellow Republicans to help make it possible.
“We don’t need to have Congress effectively modern-day declaring war and leaving it in place for a quarter of a freaking century, or in this case, 34 years,” Roy said. “We can do better.”
Meeks hinted at a future struggle in negotiations with the Senate, saying he was “prepared to fight … to get this over the finish line.”
Opponents of repealing the laws warned of unintended consequences. Rep. Joe Wilson (R-Fla.) argued doing so “would tie the president’s hands in going after Iranian puppet militias in Iraq.”
The House is expected to pass the bill Wednesday. But Republicans will likely do so largely on their own after adopting a series of culture war amendments that House Democrats warned they won’t support.
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