On Tuesday, the House of Representatives repealed a 2002 war powers resolution that paved the way for the U.S. to invade Iraq in 2003.
According to NBC News, the resolution passed 268-161. While the vote was mostly along party lines, 49 Republicans joined Democrats to pass the measure.
USA Today reports that congressional Democrats have been seeking to roll back the resolution for years, saying the 2002 measure ceded too much control to the executive branch. Democratic leadership in the Senate has endorsed the measure, as has the White House.
According to NPR, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Virginia, is sponsoring a similar bill, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has endorsed it.
"It will eliminate the danger of a future administration reaching back into the legal dustbin to use it as a justification for military adventurism," Schumer said, according to NPR.
The 2002 Authorization for the Use of Military Force, or AUMF, gave the green light for President George W. Bush to “use the Armed Forces of the United States as he determines to be necessary and appropriate in order to … defend the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq.”
The 2002 AUMF has since been cited several times to justify military actions ordered by the White House.
Last year, the Trump administration cited the AUMF in its legal justification for green-lighting the drone strike that killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, USA Today reports.
