AUMF
The Congress Shall Have Power... “To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces; To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions.”
– U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 8, Clauses 14-15 –
The Bottom Line
We must protect civilian control of the military by restoring – and then safeguarding – congressional war powers, because this is the slipperiest of slopes.
For decades, the U.S. Congress has taken the coward’s way out, purposely avoiding tough votes on military action. This irresponsible inaction has given the U.S. president unlimited power to unilaterally make military decisions, which is unacceptable – and STRAIGHT UP UNCONSTITUTIONAL.
The 2001 Authorization of Use of Military Force (AUMF) for the global war on terror must be repealed at once. For decades, it has been used to justify military actions that clearly fall outside the parameters of the original mandate.
The 2002 and 1991 AUMFs against Iraq must also be repealed immediately. In October 2025, the U.S. Senate voted to repeal both these AUMFs in an amendment to the FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the annual defense policy bill. Identical repeal provisions are included in the House’s version, making it likely that the repeals will be included in the final bill negotiated between the two chambers. The final bill will then be sent to President Trump for signature.
Moving forward, there should be a two-year sunset provision in EVERY SINGLE AUMF, meaning the authorization should automatically terminate every two years unless renewed by the U.S. Congress. This will force Congress to reexamine whether the authority is still appropriate and, therefore, whether it should remain in place – in other words, force them to do THEIR JOBS since they obviously won’t on their own.
These steps are critical not only to protect our rule of law, but also to ensure that the United States has solid national security objectives and a smart, thoughtful foreign policy strategy. Most importantly, our troops must be certain that the dangerous missions we ask them to engage in are fully warranted and vetted.
For some insane reason, we have continued to allow our leaders to use a two-decades old congressional authorization – the longest-running authorization for the use of military force in United States history – to justify military actions that clearly fall outside the parameters of the original mandate. This violates the U.S. Constitution and deprives Americans the opportunity for vigorous debate and appropriate oversight.
Moving forward, every Authorization of Use of Military Force (AUMF) should appropriately balance stringent oversight with rapid response and operational flexibility. All AUMFs should be unambiguous and include key provisions that address specific targets, specific geographic areas, the role of U.S. special forces, detailed reporting requirements, and an end date for continuing, modifying or repealing it (i.e., a sunset provision). Additionally, it should be crystal clear that any military action against a sovereign nation requires separate congressional approval unless the United States is under imminent attack.