Biden reignites war powers fight with Syria strike

President BidenJoe BidenIntercept bureau chief: minimum wage was not ‘high priority’ for Biden in COVID-19 relief South Carolina Senate adds firing squad as alternative execution method Obama alum Seth Harris to serve as Biden labor adviser: report MORE’s strike in Syria is reviving a dormant fight over war powers as Congress looks to claw back some of its authority.

The military action sparked grumbling from Democrats who say they weren’t adequately consulted on the strikes and questioned where Biden drew the authority, which the White House says falls under his powers as commander in chief.

The war powers debate will have repercussions beyond just Syria, but senators say it underscores that while the administration has changed since the last time the issue was in the spotlight, the need for action from Congress hasn’t.

“Last week’s airstrikes in Syria show that the executive branch, regardless of party, will continue to stretch its war powers,” said Sen. Tim KaineTimothy (Tim) Michael KaineOvernight Defense: Tim Kaine moves to claw back war powers authority | Study on sexual harassment and assault in the military Biden tells Senate Democrats to stick together, quickly pass coronavirus relief Kaine plans new push on war powers after Biden’s Syria strike MORE (D-Va.).

Attempts to rein in a president’s war authorities frequently divide the two ends of Pennsylvania Avenue and are a landmine of competing and conflicting interests: Presidents are loath to give up power, with Republicans often wary of military restrictions in general, while Congress has increasingly given away its powers in recent decades.

“I think the problem is mostly inside these walls. I think it’s really had to define who America’s enemies are today and Congress … generally doesn’t want to get involved in that work, so I think Congress has over the years has just been very used to outsourcing those decisions,” said Sen. Chris MurphyChristopher (Chris) Scott MurphyGun violence prevention groups optimistic background check legislation can pass this Congress Democrats reintroduce gun sale background check legislation Amazon manager sues company over racial discrimination, harassment allegations MORE (D-Conn.).

Kaine and Sen. Todd YoungTodd Christopher YoungSenate mulls changes to .9 trillion coronavirus bill Graham: Trump will ‘be helpful’ to all Senate GOP incumbents Biden signs supply chain order after ‘positive’ meeting with lawmakers MORE (R-Ind.) led a bipartisan group on Tuesday that introduced legislation to repeal the 1991 and 2002 war authorizations, both of which deal with Iraq. Senators say they want to formally take the Gulf and Iraq war authorizations for the use of military force (AUMFs) off the books to prevent potential misuse down the line.

This isn’t the first time Congress has tried to repeal the decades-old authorizations. Kaine and Young introduced similar legislation in 2019, but it languished in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The House voted last year to repeal the 2002 authorization, drawing a veto threat from Trump. The measure did not advance in the GOP-controlled Senate.

Even though the 2002 law was authorized to…