WASHINGTON \u2014 The U.S. Senate is moving toward a vote Wednesday on Sen. Rand Paul\u2019s proposal to scrap America\u2019s current war authorizations, potentially the first such vote since 2002, he announced Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Senate leaders have apparently struck a deal with Paul, who had threatened to block consideration of further amendments to the $700 billion 2018 defense policy bill unless his measure received a vote. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The deal removes a potential obstacle for debate on hot-button issues including protections for transgendered troops, a new round of base closures and other amendments that reflect the priorities of lawmakers across the Senate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI rise today to oppose unauthorized, undeclared and unconstitutional war,\u201d the Republican senator from Kentucky said. \u201cWhat we have today is basically unlimited war \u2014 war anywhere, anytime, any place on the globe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If passed as proposed, the amendment would repeal the 2001 and 2002 authorizations within six months of its passage, a gambit to have Congress debate whether to grant new authorization to the current president for current conflicts.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To fight the Islamic State group, the Trump administration, as did the Obama administration, relies on an Authorization for the Use of Military Force, or AUMF, that was approved by Congress in 2001, shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks. A separate authorization for the war in Iraq approved in 2002 also remains in force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Paul, a leader of the GOP\u2019s non-interventionist wing and longtime advocate for an AUMF vote, argues those authorizations are being used improperly to justify military operations in Yemen and against ISIS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Still, there are procedural hurdles left for Paul\u2019s amendment, and lawmakers may be reluctant to hold a vote on an AUMF because of the political consequences, or for other reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Senate Armed Services Committee\u2019s ranking member, Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., called the six-month period arbitrary and said an AUMF replacement needs to be part of the discussions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat we\u2019re simply doing if the Paul amendment is adopted is saying: \u2018If we can\u2019t get our job done in six months, then we have no legal authority or questionable legal authority to continue operations across the globe,\u2019 \u201d Reed said. \u201dIt would be an arbitrary six-month period, and it would unfortunately, I think, send the very inappropriate signal to our troops, to our allies in the fight across the globe, and also it would send an unfortunate signal to our adversaries.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., spoke on the Senate floor in support of Paul\u2019s amendment. They have introduced an AUMF they hoped would serve as a starting point for debate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCongress should now have a long-overdue debate and vote on our ongoing military action against ISIS, al-Qaida and the Taliban, including in Afghanistan,\u201d said Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe majority of us weren\u2019t in Congress in 2001 to vote on the Authorization for Use of Military Force that\u2019s still being used to justify our current military action, and we owe it to our service members and the American people to define the U.S. mission and publicly reaffirm our commitment to this fight.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier Tuesday, White House legislative director Marc Short said the Trump administration has adequate legal authority to combat terrorist groups and doesn\u2019t support the push in Congress for a new law permitting military action against ISIS and other militants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis informed lawmakers last month that the 2001 authorization provides sufficient authority to wage war against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. But Tillerson and Mattis also said they\u2019re open to an updated authorization, provided the measure doesn\u2019t impose tactically unwise restrictions or infringe on the president\u2019s constitutional powers as commander in chief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Short, who spoke at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast, said the administration isn\u2019t looking for changes and stood by the 2001 authorization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Associated Press contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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