By Brian Brant
(WASHINGTON) Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced on Wednesday that he supports a repeal of the 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) in Iraq, according to Axios.
Schumer, whose public support marks the first time he has expressed the need for repeal, said that repealing the authorization "will eliminate the danger of a future administration reaching back into the legal dust bin to use it as a justification for military adventurism."
The House is scheduled to vote Thursday on a bill that would repeal the authorization that was passed before former President George W. Bush ordered the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
The chamber previously voted to repeal authorization last year, but the measure was not taken up in the Senate and the Trump administration opposed the change.
"At the beginning of last year, we saw that danger become frightfully real when President Trump ordered an airstrike against an Iranian target in Iraq without transparency, without proper notification to Congress, and without a clear strategy," Schumer added.
However, revoking the 2002 AUMF will not affect the 2001 order that is viewed as a far more sweeping authorization by allowing the U.S. government to use military force against those responsible for the 9/11 attacks.
The White House's Office of Management and Budget issued a statement Monday supporting the 2002 repeal.