Congress is back in session and with the results of the 2024 election behind us, members have a long list of items that need to get done before the new year. One item that should be added to the top of that list is a repeal of the 2002 and 1991 authorizations for the use of military force (AUMFs).
Repealing the pair of AUMFs should be a no-brainer. Keeping the authorizations on the books gives any president the legal authority to surge troops to the Middle East, even though decades have passed since the authorizations were drafted. Both the Iraq War and Gulf War are now over, meaning the AUMFs have overstayed their welcome in U.S. Code. Most importantly, the AUMFs are not used as the sole domestic legal justification for any active operations by the United States.
The 2002 and 1991 AUMFs are also not the only tool in the toolbox. Even if the AUMFs are repealed, the president can use Article II of the U.S. Constitution as legal justification if force is warranted to defend the United States. If he needs additional domestic legal authority, he can make his case to Congress, as Presidents have historically done in times of crisis.
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