To ensure the AUMF amendment (which repeals the Iraq AUMF) stays in the final National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) we need to contact the following members of congress. Call their DC offices every day starting Dec 1, until the NDAA comes up for a vote, which should be any day now. If you have limited time, call the first four on the list below. Try to call every day. Spread the word!
- Sen. Wicker ASC Chair-202-224-6253
- Sen James Risch (R- Idaho) 202-224-2752
- Sen Jack Reed (R-RI) 202-224-4642
- Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) 202-225-3026
- Sen. John Thune-(R-SD) 202-224-2321
- Sen. Chuck Schumer-(D-NY) 202-224-6542
- Rep. Mike Rogers-Chair-(R-AL) 202-225-3261
- Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) 202-225-27777
- Rep. Hakeem Jeffries –(D-MA) 202-225-5936
Sample script “I am from [city/neighborhood] and I’m calling as a Member of Your organization. I strongly urge [their name] to keep the AUMF amendment in the final NDAA. (Reason-option)”
2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF)
Why 2002 AUMF is Obsolete…
Originally enacted to authorize the use of military force against Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq, the Iraq Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) is no longer relevant to present day military activities. Hussein’s regime was overthrown in 2003, and a formal end to the U.S. mission in Iraq was declared at the end of 2011 by President Barack Obama. Repealing the Iraq AUMF would constitute a matter of basic constitutional hygiene. It is an important step toward rebalancing the division of constitutional war powers between an executive branch that has all too often usurped Congress’s war powers, and a legislative branch that has all too often ceded them. This AUMF is what has contributed to endless war. The law that authorized this long-over war should therefore be repealed.
Why should we repeal the 2002 AUMF now?
Repeal is critical now because doing so now can prevent misuse and abuse. The intent of 2002’s AUMF was to remove Saddam Hussein from power, and that has happened. Now, this outdated war authority could be used to justify a presidential overreach of unauthorized new military actions . For example, during hist first term, President Trump cited the 2002 AUMF as part of his legal justification for the 2020 assassination of General Qasem Soleimani. The Constitution says that Congress has that authority to declare when and where U.S military force is used. Congress must repeal the 2002 AUMF to reassert their authority over declarations are war and use of military force.
Repeal of the 2002 AUMF has bipartisan and bi cameral support, as well as support in the White House. Vice President JD Vance co-sponsored and voted for an identical 2002 repeal bill in 2023, which passed with a strong bipartisan vote of 66-30. In 2021, members of the House also voted to repeal the 2002 and 1991 AUMFs by strong bipartisan votes. President Trump has also made ending endless wars a cornerstone of his presidency, stating in his inauguration speech, “we will measure our success not only by the battles we win, by also by the wars that we end.”
This law is now two decades old and it’s time to clean up the books!
