The 2002 AUMF was born on Oct. 16, 2002 — 20 years ago this week! — and will have been, in the language of obituaries, pre-deceased by Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, who was deposed by U.S. forces in 2003, tried in 2005 and executed in 2006.
The “zombie” authorization is still on the books, Kaine told The Daily 202, “because Congress hasn’t had the backbone to lift it off the books.”
This isn’t just about the mere symbolic housekeeping of clearing out legislative cobwebs:
- In 2014, years after Saddam was gone, Barack Obama said the 2002 AUMF was a legal justification for air strikes targeting fighters of the so-called Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.
- In 2020, Donald Trump invoked the 2002 AUMF as legal justification for the strike in Iraq that killed Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani, even pointing in a footnote to Obama’s rationale. (The law does not say anything about Iran.)
“We shouldn’t be at war without Congress, and when it’s over we should say it’s over, and repeal the authorization lest it be used for bad, mischievous purposes,” said Kaine, who pushed Obama unsuccessfully to secure a separate AUMF for ISIS.
Kaine’s hope
Kaine and Young plan to attach their proposal to the annual National Defense Authorization Act, a must-pass piece of legislation expected to come up in the lame-duck session between the midterm elections and when a new Congress takes office in January.
Kaine told The Daily 202 he’d prefer to pass a stand-alone bill “because it’s been so long since Congress has repealed a war authorization.” But “the reality of floor time,” which is scarce, and the possibility of “poison pills” to kill the proposal makes the amendment route preferable.
- Repealing the AUMF will require overcoming opposition from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who argued last year that doing so would be “reckless” and “might limit counterterrorism missions.”
President Biden’s administration, on the other hand, is on board.
“They’re the first administration I’ve worked with that wholeheartedly supports repealing it,” Kaine said, adding that Biden agrees “outdated war authorizations should be jettisoned.”
When the same debate came up in 2021, the White House issued a policy statement saying it “supports the repeal, as the United States has no ongoing military activities that rely solely on the 2002 AUMF as a domestic legal basis.”
The Daily 202 noted at the time how that “solely” was important. Biden has generally justified military action he’s taken under Article II of the Constitution or under the 2001 AUMF that every administration has used since shortly after 9/11 to target al-Qaeda or extremists affiliated with it.
Congress and war
Over the past decade, Congress has often — and in a bipartisan way — shied away from embracing its constitutional role in the terrible decision about whether to send young American men and women into harm’s way.
In The Daily 202’s experience, some lawmakers insist they do not want to handcuff the executive branch (they could pass expansive AUMFs). Others balk at AUMFs that they say give the executive branch too much power (they could support more restrictive AUMFs).
One constant is a fear in the Capitol about paying a political price for the “wrong” vote — with the example of Hillary Clinton’s “yes” to passing the 2002 AUMF helping to cost her the Democratic nomination in 2008 still on their minds.
- Kaine told The Daily 202 the most common argument he hears these days against repeal is “well, you’re right, Iraq is a partner, but this will send a message to adversaries in the neighborhood that we’re pulling back.” In this case, “adversaries” means “Iran.”
His rejoinder is that the repeal would show how “the United States and Iraq have built a partnership” which could have a “deterrent effect.” (Tehran doesn’t seem to care much one way or another about war authorities.)
If this repeal effort is successfully, it could open to the door to a much, much more difficult job: Replacing the 2001 AUMF that has essentially underpinned the entire war on terrorism with something a little less open-ended.
That would be a good goal, Kaine said. But “we have to get this one done first.”
What’s happening now
Trump scheduled to appear for deposition in E. Jean Carroll lawsuit
“Former President Donald Trump is set to answer questions under oath Wednesday as part of the defamation lawsuit brought by former magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll,” CNN's Kara Scannell reports.
Many remain critical of state of US democracy: AP-NORC poll
“Only about half of Americans have high confidence that votes in the upcoming midterm elections will be counted accurately, according to a new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, though that’s an improvement from about 4 in 10 saying that just before the 2020 presidential election. Just 9% of U.S. adults think democracy is working ‘extremely’ or ‘very well,’ while 52% say it’s not working well,” the Associated Press's Gary Fields and Christina A. Cassidy report.
The war in Ukraine
Putin decrees ‘martial law’ in illegally annexed territories of Ukraine
“Russian President Vladimir Putin imposed martial law Wednesday in Ukrainian territories that Moscow illegally claimed to annex last month, signaling an intensifying effort to achieve its war objectives. The decree opens another dark and uncertain chapter for thousands of Ukrainians living under Russian military occupation,” Robyn Dixon reports.
Lunchtime reads from The Post
GOP hopefuls stump for election deniers despite distancing from Trump lies
“[Former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley] is not the only 2024 GOP hopeful who is trying to offer a contrast to Trump but still stumping for election deniers. Former vice president Mike Pence, Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan have all criticized Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election and have given signals about running against him in 2024. Still, in this year’s midterm elections, they’re all campaigning with Republicans who have thoroughly embraced Trump’s lies about 2020,” Isaac Arnsdorf reports.
At fiery debate, Rubio opposes gun measure he championed after Parkland
“Sen. Marco Rubio and Rep. Val Demings of Florida clashed heatedly over gun restrictions and abortion at a debate Tuesday where Rubio disavowed one measure he embraced four years ago after a deadly school shooting in Florida — a law banning 18-year-olds from buying assault-style rifles,” Hannah Knowles and Mariana Alfaro report.
… and beyond
What does ‘abortion’ mean? Even the word itself is up for debate.
“Major medical societies, and medical billing codes, define abortion as any procedure that terminates a pregnancy — whether that pregnancy is wanted or unwanted, whether a woman is seeking the procedure to clean out her uterus after a miscarriage, or because of a dire fetal diagnosis, or to terminate a pregnancy that she had not expected,” the New York Times' Kate Zernike reports.
“Anti-abortion lawmakers and groups disagree, arguing that it’s an abortion only if the woman or her medical provider elects to end the pregnancy. This generally means that terminating a pregnancy in a dire medical situation is acceptable, while terminating an unwanted pregnancy is not.”
The latest on covid
Whites now more likely to die from covid than Blacks: Why the pandemic shifted
“A Post analysis of covid death data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from April 2020 through this summer found the racial disparity vanished at the end of last year, becoming roughly equal. And at times during that same period, the overall age-adjusted death rate for White people slightly surpassed that of Black and Latino people,” Akilah Johnson and Dan Keating report.
The Biden agenda
Biden to announce release of more petroleum from strategic reserve
“President Biden will announce on Wednesday that he is releasing 15 million more barrels of fuel from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a move aimed at easing gas prices three weeks before voters anxious over rising costs head to the polls as Democrats have been battered by GOP attacks on the economy,” Cleve R. Wootson Jr. and Evan Halper report.
Biden kicks off Democrats’ final sprint focusing on one theme: Abortion
“President Biden vowed Tuesday to make codifying Roe v. Wade his first legislative priority if Democrats control Congress after the November elections, tying the outcome of the midterms more directly to enshrining abortion rights than he has previously and raising the stakes for a tumultuous election where his party faces strong head winds,” Cleve R. Wootson Jr. and Tyler Pager report.
White House taking every step possible to avoid direct Biden-Putin encounter at G-20
“Biden last week opened the door to meeting Putin at the summit for a chance to negotiate the freedom of American prisoners, including WNBA star Brittney Griner. But there are no discussions underway with the Kremlin to make a deal happen and that seems unlikely to change, according to multiple administration officials not authorized to publicly discuss private negotiations,” Politico's Jonathan Lemire reports.
Party gatherings give a window into Biden’s mind, from nukes to Pelosi
“There are few venues in which he says all that he means more than at Democratic Party fundraisers, when the audience is friendly and his guard is down,” Matt Viser reports.
“In just the past few weeks, Biden has told donors that Donald Trump and his followers are verging on ‘semi-fascism.’ He warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s actions are risking nuclear ‘Armageddon.’ He derided the Supreme Court as an ‘advocacy group.’ He called Pakistan a highly dangerous country, and he suggested Italy is sliding into authoritarianism.”
2023's tax brackets and standard deductions, visualized
“The Internal Revenue Service will allow Americans to shield more of their income from taxes in 2023 because of higher inflation, the agency announced Tuesday, raising income thresholds for all tax brackets and increasing the standard deduction,” Jacob Bogage reports.
Hot on the left
Mike Bloomberg takes different approach to funding Democrats this year
“Top Democratic donor Mike Bloomberg, a billionaire former candidate for president, plans to spend more than $60 million on this year’s elections, according to his advisers, opting for a lower public profile than he has taken in recent years,” Michael Scherer reports.
“Much of his spending, including about $11 million in donations to House Majority PAC, the primary outside group supporting Democrats in the battle for control of the House, has not yet been publicly disclosed, while more than $15 million has been pushed through Democratic-aligned groups such as Emily’s List, Planned Parenthood and the League of Conservation Voters, the advisers said.”
Hot on the right
How DeSantis used Disney’s missteps to wage war on corporate America
“DeSantis used Disney’s turmoil as a launchpad for his boldest confrontation yet with corporate America, spearheading a successful push to strip Disney of a decades-old tax district, slamming the company on Fox News and fundraising off the clash,” Michael Kranish reports.
“As major corporations have increasingly taken stands on issues like voting rights, LGBTQ protections and police violence, DeSantis has seized a leading role in redefining the GOP’s relationship with companies that were once a bedrock of Republican support. Even amid a party swinging hard toward populism, DeSantis has sought to separate himself from other Republicans not just by picking culture war fights, but by attacking the concept that corporations are beneficial to America.”
Today in Washington
Biden will have lunch with Vice President Harris at 12:15 p.m.
At 1:15 p.m., Biden will speak about efforts to lower energy costs.
Biden will speak about the bipartisan infrastructure law at 3 p.m.
In closing
In memoriam
Bus-riding dog who took herself to park remembered as ‘Seattle icon’
“The most unusual passenger on Seattle public transit never rode the bus for long, just a few stops. She sometimes dozed during her short journeys, drooping her head onto the laps of strangers who never seemed to mind. Approaching her stop, she banged on the door in anticipation. And other riders loved her for it,” Jonathan Edwards reports.
“But Seattle’s buses will no longer carry perhaps their most famous passenger. Eclipse, the black lab-bullmastiff mix who achieved fame by riding to the park alone, died Friday. She was 10.”
Thanks for reading. See you tomorrow.