The White House said Wednesday that it doesn't necessarily need congressional approval to continue its operations against the Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq, even after the 60-day congressional approval window expired on Oct. 7.
According to the 1973 War Powers Resolution, the president has a 60-day window to conduct military operations without an act of Congress, however if Congress fails to provide authorization within the window, such operations become illegal.
While the White House repeatedly cited the resolution during the summer leading up to troop deployments and air strikes in Iraq and Syria, now the White House says two congressional resolutions from 2001 and 2002 can legally serve as authorization from Congress, reported the Guardian.
The 2001 and 2002 Authorizations to Use Military Force (AUMF) "constitute specific authorization within the meaning of the War Powers Resolution," therefore, "the War Powers Resolution's 60-day limitation on operations does not apply here," said Bernadette Meehan, spokeswoman for the National Security Council.
The 2001 resolution was approved to attack those responsible for Sept. 11, and the 2002 AUMF was approved to invade Iraq and oust Saddam Hussein.
Both resolutions long predate the existence of the Islamic State group, which al-Qaeda has specifically excommunicated and denounced, according to the Guardian. President Barack Obama supported the expiration of both AUMFs before the launch of Operation Inherent Resolve.
Meehan said that the White House will still file War Powers Notifications to Congress to keep them informed of military operations.
"We have filed War Powers reports consistent with the reporting provisions of the War Powers Resolution, and we will continue to do so. At the outset, the President authorized a series of discrete air strike operations," Meehan told the Guardian.
"The War Powers reports filed earlier in the summer notified Congress and the American people of each of these specific operations. In September, the President authorized and announced an expanded mission, and the administration filed War Powers reports on 23 September identifying this expanded mission. Going forward, we intend to update Congress consistent with War Powers Resolution as part of the comprehensive periodic reports that we submit to Congress in June and December."
