U.S. President Joe Biden believes that authorizations for the use of military force that justify U.S. airstrikes on foreign targets need to be updated, according to Reuters on Saturday, citing the White House.
Biden's signal of support to replace war power authority in the Middle East comes a little more than a week after he gave the green light for a retaliatory attack against Iranian-backed militia in eastern Syria.
The U.S. has blamed the militia for multiple attacks that targeted U.S. servicemen and interests in Iraq in the past.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that the recent airstrikes in Syria that Biden authorized were legal.
"The Syria airstrikes were, of course - we had a legal process and review. We are confident in the legal authorities for that strike," she said in remarks quoted by Reuters.
During her daily press briefing, Psaki told journalists that Biden agreed the Authorizations for the use of Military Force (AUMFs) are "long overdue for update."
Psaki said the President wanted to discuss "a narrow and specific framework" moving forward and would cooperate with U.S. Democratic Senator Tim Kaine on this issue.
The Biden administration announced its position following the proposal of a bipartisan bill earlier this week seeking to revoke the 1991 and 2002 authorizations for the wars in Iraq that presidents from both parties have relied on for legal justification to launch attacks in the region, USA Today reported.
The 2001 version authorized the use of military force against al-Qaeda in Afghanistan after 9/11, and the 2002 iteration gave Bush Congress's approval to invade Iraq - a measure then-senator Biden supported.
"The U.S. Congress has a responsibility to not only vote to authorize new military action but to repeal old authorizations that are no longer necessary," VOX quoted Kaine as saying in a statement.
The U.S. Constitution gives Congress -- not the president -- the power to declare war.
