The House on Wednesday voted to pass its version of the National Defense Authorization Act, with a bipartisan amendment to repeal the two laws authorizing the use of military force (AUMF) in Iraq.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The legislation, which authorizes funding and sets policy for the U.S. military, passed 231 to 196<\/strong>. Four Republicans voted in opposition of the bill while 17 Democrats joined the rest of the GOP in voting in for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The AUMF amendment, part of nearly two dozen amendments added<\/strong> in a series of votes, would repeal the 2002 Iraq War and 1991 Gulf War authorizations as well as make it more difficult for presidents to bypass Congress on military actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lawmakers voted 261 to 167 to pull the AUMF<\/strong>s, which critics say have been abused by presidents as they grant the commander-in-chief authority to use military force without issuing a formal declaration of war. All Democrats voted in support of the amendment, joined by 49 Republicans\u2014about one-fifth of the GOP lawmakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Presidents routinely use AUMFs to legally justify military action, with President Trump relying on the 2002 AUMF, which sanctioned the United States\u2019s invasion of Iraq, to authorize a fatal strike on Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani<\/strong> in January 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The vote came after three members of the House Freedom Caucus \u2013 Reps. Ralph Norman\u2002<\/u><\/a>(R-S.C.), Chip Roy\u2002<\/u><\/a>(R-Texas) and Morgan Griffith\u2002<\/u><\/a>(R-Va.) \u2013 on Tuesday broke<\/u><\/a> with Republican leaders<\/strong> in the House Rules Committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The three voted in favor of a motion from Rep. Jim McGovern\u2002<\/u><\/a>(Mass.), the top Democrat on the House Rules Committee, to allow a vote on the amendment.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n A bill to repeal the 2002 AUMF last passed the House in 2021<\/strong>, while a bill to repeal both the 2002 and 1991 authorizations passed the Senate in 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n