Sens. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., and Tim Kaine, D-Va., plan to introduce a bipartisan authorization for use of military force on Thursday.
Flake said on Twitter Wednesday evening that he and Kaine would be making the official announcement at noon at the U.S. Capitol.
Joining @timkaine at noon tomorrow in the @SenateRadioTV gallery for a press conference announcing the introduction of our bipartisan #AUMF
— Jeff Flake (@JeffFlake) May 24, 2017
The latest push for a new war authorization follows President Trump’s military strike in Syria in April in response to a chemical weapons attack that killed civilians by the Assad regime.
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., introduced his own version of an AUMF last month, joined by nine Democratic colleagues, which would be used in the fight against the Islamic State, al Qaeda and the Taliban. Similar to an AUMF he pushed last year, this war authorization would allow Congress the power to modify at any time the president’s ability to deploy ground troops and requires more extensive reporting to Congress and the public.
Schiff’s AUMF, which would last three years, would replace war authorizations that were passed back in 2001 and 2002, which are still being used as the legal authority for military operations.
