Washington — House Republicans voted Wednesday to repeal the legal justifications used to attack Iraq in 1991 and 2003, the latest attempt by Congress to revoke the president’s authority to wage war.
The move follows President Trump’s decisions to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities and strike a boat allegedly carrying illicit drugs in the Caribbean.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have long questioned leaving the authorizations in place, arguing it allows presidents to abuse their power.
The House adopted the measure in a 261 to 167 vote. It was supported by 212 Democrats and 49 Republicans. The bipartisan amendment is linked to the annual National Defense Authorization Act, which passed later Wednesday. The amendment was sponsored by Democratic Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York and Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas.
During floor debate, Meeks said the authorizations are “long obsolete” and “risk abuse by administrations of either party.”
“It is time for Congress to reclaim its constitutional authority over matters of war and peace,” Meeks said.
Republican Rep. Brian Mast of Florida, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said he was objecting to the amendment for “procedural reasons.”
“We have, I think, probably large agreement on reasons to sunset things,” Mast said. “But it should not be done in absence of doing something of this gravity in the proper way.”
A similar measure passed the Democratic-controlled Senate in 2023, with the support of 48 Democrats and 18 Republicans. But it never received a vote in the Republican-controlled House.
In the House, 219 Democrats and 49 Republicans voted to repeal the 2002 authorization in 2021. But it stalled in the Senate. Both chambers had a Democratic majority at the time.
Congress adopted the 2002 authorization ahead of the March 2003 invasion of Iraq that led to the toppling of Saddam Hussein’s regime. The 1991 authorization was approved during the Gulf War.
“We should not be operating under a 23-year-old authorization of the use of military force,” Roy said. “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 since 1991.”
In 2020, Mr. Trump used the 2002 authorization as part of the legal justification for an airstrike that killed Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad.
