Politics

White House Supports Lawmakers’ Push To Limit Biden’s War Powers

(Photo by Oliver Contreras-Pool/Getty Images)

Christian Datoc Senior White House Correspondent
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White House press secretary Jen Psaki expressed support for a bipartisan bill offered earlier this week that would greatly limit President Joe Biden’s war powers.

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 04: White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki speaks during the daily press briefing in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on March 4, 2021 in Washington, DC. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough also spoke at the briefing. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 04: White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki speaks during the daily press briefing in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on March 4, 2021 in Washington, DC. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough also spoke at the briefing. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

“Tim Kaine has been a leader on questions of war powers throughout his time in the Senate and has helped build a strong bipartisan coalition that understands the importance of Congress’s constitutional prerogatives,” Psaki tweeted Friday morning.

“We are committed to working with Congress to ensure that the authorizations for the use of military force currently on the books are replaced with a narrow and specific framework that will ensure we can protect Americans from terrorist threats while ending the forever wars.” (RELATED: President Biden’s War Powers Are Under Threat From A Bipartisan Senate Bill)

The bill itself, sponsored by Democratic Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine and Republican Indiana Sen. Todd Young, came as a response to Biden’s decision to launch airstrikes against Iranian-backed militants in late February in retaliation for a series of rocket attacks carried out against U.S. targets in Iraq.

The legislation would roll back military force authorizations issued in 1991 and 2001 and would limit the executive branch’s ability to take unilateral military action without input from Congress.

A similar measure passed both chambers in the spring of 2020, but former President Donald Trump ultimately vetoed the bill.