By ELLEN KNICKMEYER (Associated Press)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden reached a major deadline this week under the War Powers Resolution to get Congress’ approval for continuing the military campaign against Yemen’s Houthis, in line with its sole authority under the U.S. Constitution to declare war and authorize military force.
The deadline passed without public statement, even from Senate Democrats who are frustrated by the Biden administration’s bypassing some of the checkpoints that would give Congress more say in the United States’ deepening military involvement in the Middle East conflicts.
The Biden administration argues that nothing in the War Powers Resolution, or other deadlines, directives and laws, obliges it to change its military support for Israel’s five-month-old war in Gaza, or two months of U.S. military strikes on the Houthis, or to submit to greater congressional oversight or control. This has left some frustrated Senate Democrats considering how to confront a president of their own party over his military authority.Democrats are cautious about undermining Biden as he faces a tough reelection campaign. Their ability to act is hampered by their control of only one chamber, the Senate, where some Democrats — and many Republicans — support Biden’s military actions in the Middle East. Biden’s approach gives him more flexibility in how he conducts U.S. military engagement since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks, but it risks exacerbating any crisis if things go awry.James A. Siebens, leader of the Defense Strategy and Planning project at the Stimson Center in Washington, called it a “potential constitutional crisis.”
The conflicts in the Middle East have reignited a long-standing conflict between presidents, as commanders in chief, and Congress, which has the authority to stop and start wars or lesser military force uses and controls their funding.
U.S. and British warships, planes, and drones initiated attacks on Houthi targets in Yemen on Jan. 11. Numerous U.S. strikes have ensued. The U.S. strikes aim to counter the surge of attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis, a clan-based movement that has seized control of much of northern Yemen and has targeted international shipping in the Red Sea since the Israel-Hamas war began.
Biden officially informed Congress the following day. The administration made an effort to portray the U.S. military campaign as defensive actions and not as “hostilities” falling under the War Powers Resolution.
The resolution provides presidents with 60 days after notifying Congress that they’ve sent U.S. forces into armed conflict, to either obtain its approval to continue fighting, or to withdraw U.S. troops. This deadline was Tuesday.
the White House maintains its stance that the military actions are aimed at defending U.S. forces and are not subject to the 60-day provision in the resolution.
Congress passed the War Powers Resolution despite a presidential veto in 1973, exerting its authority over U.S. foreign wars as President Richard Nixon expanded the Vietnam War.
Since that time, presidents have frequently argued that U.S. involvement in conflicts does not constitute “hostilities” or fall under the resolution in any other way. If lawmakers disagree, they can pressure the executive branch to seek authorization for military force, attempt to officially order the president to withdraw by involving Congress, hold back funding, or increase congressional oversight.
Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy is considering introducing a bill in the coming weeks to authorize the U.S. campaign against the Houthis, with specific restrictions on time, geographical range, and scope. This plan has not been previously disclosed.
Murphy and other Democrats in Congress have raised concerns about the effectiveness of the U.S. attacks on the Houthis, the risk of further regional escalation, and the lack of clarity on the administration’s end goal. They have questioned why the administration views it as the U.S. military’s responsibility to safeguard a global shipping route.
Senator Tim Kaine, a Democrat from Virginia, stated at a Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee hearing on seeking congressional authorization for the U.S. strikes on the Houthis, “This constitutes ‘hostilities.’ There is no congressional authorization for them. And it’s not even close.”
When asked this week about the next steps now that the 60 days have passed, Kaine mentioned that it would be premature for Congress to consider authorizing the U.S. action against the Houthis without understanding the strategy.
Senator James Risch of Idaho, the leading Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, did not have any doubts.
“I believe that the president has all the power that he needs under the Constitution to do what he’s doing in Yemen,” Risch said this week.
However, it is Gaza and the rising number of civilian casualties among Palestinians that has sparked the most protests from Congress. The Israel-Hamas war also holds a much higher profile in U.S. domestic politics. While many Americans are firmly against any reduction in military support to Israel, an increasing number of Democrats have started withholding votes from Biden in state presidential primaries to demand more U.S. action for the people trapped in Gaza.
Several members of Congress were initially frustrated that the administration bypassed congressional review to quickly provide additional military assistance to Israel, citing a national security emergency.
A presidential order negotiated with Senate Democrats requires Israel to confirm in writing by March 25 that it will follow international law when using U.S. weapons in Gaza and will not hinder humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians, or else face a potential reduction in U.S. military aid.
The United Nations has stated that Israeli restrictions are preventing many aid trucks from entering Gaza. This month, the U.S. started air drops and efforts to establish a sea route to deliver more food and essential goods to the territory.
Some members of Congress are urging the administration to currently cut the military aid, citing existing federal law that mandates countries receiving U.S. military assistance to use it in line with international law, including allowing humanitarian access to civilians in conflicts.
A Senate Democrats group and independent Sen. Bernie Sanders told Biden this week that it was clear that Israel was blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza. They asked him to stop military aid immediately, unless Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government changes its actions, based on U.S. foreign assistance laws.
Maryland Democrat Chris Van Hollen, one of the senators pushing hardest on the point, said he is still surprised that the administration hasn't taken action.
Associated Press writer Farnoush Amiri contributed.
The conflicts in the Middle East have brought back the ongoing disagreement between presidents and Congress over the authority to approve or reject wars, or other military actions, and to control their funding.
A group of Senate Democrats and independent Sen. Bernie Sanders wrote Biden this week that it was already plain that Israel was obstructing humanitarian aid to Gaza. They urged him to cut military aid immediately, absent a turnaround by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, under existing laws on U.S. foreign assistance.
“I’m still flabbergasted” that the administration hasn’t acted, Maryland Democrat Chris Van Hollen, one of the senators pushing hardest on the point, said.
——
Associated Press writer Farnoush Amiri contributed.
