Congress goes to war with presidents

Driving the news: The Senate on Thursday took its first procedural votes to repeal the AUMFs green-lighting the 1991 Gulf War and 2002 Iraq War, voting 68-27 to advance the joint resolution.

• Lawmakers who support the resolution argue the AUMFs are outdated and have given presidents the power to use them far beyond their original intent.
• The 2002 AUMF, for instance, was cited as justification for several military actions during the Trump administration — most controversially, the 2020 killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in Iraq.
• All Senate Democrats present and 19 Republicans voted for repeal — an unusually bipartisan vote in a chamber that rarely gets together on major bills.

What they're saying: "We should properly follow the Constitution and let the American people have their own voice in this process, through their elected representatives in Congress," Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said in a floor speech on Thursday in support of repealing the AUMFs.

• The White House Office of Management and Budget said President Biden supports repeal, saying it would have "no impact on current U.S. military operations."

Yes, but: It's not yet clear whether House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) will bring the bill up for a vote, even as it's supported by many of the right-wing hardliners he has empowered.

• Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), a conservative on the Rules Committee who co-sponsored the AUMF repeal in the House, signaled to Axios that he expects a floor vote.
• McCarthy's office did not respond to a request for comment.

What we're watching: Senators who led the charge to repeal the old AUMFs laid out other initiatives they're eyeing to reassert congressional power in the face of creeping executive authority.

• Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said repealing the Iraq AUMFs is "largely symbolic" and that he's considering proposing a bill to repeal the 2001 War on Terror AUMF as an amendment: "That's the one they all point to and it justifies 20 different wars around the world."
• Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) cited a bill he introduced with Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) aimed at reclaiming congressional authority over war powers, national emergencies and arms exports — areas in which the executive can often act relatively unchecked.
• Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said Congress should revisit two mid-20th century laws expanding the president's ability to impose tariffs and declare national emergencies — though he declared, "It'll never happen."

Reality check: Grassley isn't alone in his pessimism. Although repealing the Iraq AUMFs is garnering broad bipartisan support, more sweeping measures would likely face an uphill battle.

• Murphy acknowledged uncertainty about whether his bill could get a vote, let alone pass. He called the AUMF repeal "very targeted" and "retrospective," while his is a more sweeping reform measure.
• Paul acknowledged his push to repeal the 2001 AUMF is far less popular: "I did it in the committee, I wasn't very successful. It was me vs. 20.... I might bring it forward just because I think we should have the debate."
• The Kentucky senator also pointed to Sen. Mark Warner's (D-Va.) bill empowering the president to ban TikTok as an example of Congress backsliding on the push to exert its authority.

The other side: One senator who voted against advancing AUMF repeal Thursday, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), told Axios that the president "always seems to find Article II [constitutional] authority to do what they want to do."

• Lawmakers were outraged when Biden cited Article II, which allows the president to act in self-defense to protect military service-members, to authorize airstrikes on Iran-backed militias in Syria in 2021.
• "I just think this is not going to have any real impact, and I think there are other things we ought to be doing," Cornyn said.