Senator links military force to defense bill vote
The Washington Post
A single senator vowed Monday night to delay the Senate from debating a mustpass, $700 billion defense bill until he is promised a vote to force Congress to pass an authorizationfor use of military force against extremist groupswithin six months.
A growing number of lawmakers have been calling for Congress to pass a new authorization for use of military force, or AUMF, as the war in Afghanistan drags close to its 17th year. But Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has largely been alone in his quest to force a deadline on Congress, as the chief agitators for a new AUMF — Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Jeff Flake, R-Ariz. — have expressed a firm preference for crafting such a measure in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Mr. Paul sits on that panel and its chairman, Bob Corker, R-Tenn., has promised to schedule an AUMF debate soon.
Mr. Paul also was alone on the Senate floor Monday night as he pledged to “sit on the floor, in silent protest … for as long as needed to ensure Congress [does] its duty, and vote on ending these wars.” He stressed that he would object to “all procedural moves and amendments” until his AUMF measure was guaranteed a vote.
But less than an hour after issuing his threat, Mr. Paul and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., appeared to have struck a deal, guaranteeing Mr. Paul four hours on Tuesday to state his AUMF case on the Senate floor. In an emailed statement sent shortly after, Mr. Paul nonetheless pledged to “continue to fight, and if necessary, object, to continue this debate, secure a vote and forceCongress to do its duty.”
In practical terms, Mr. Paul’s protesting power is limited. On Monday evening, the Senate voted 89-3 to advance the defense bill to the next stage of debate. The next procedural vote can take place early Wednesday morning, and if a quorum of senators are present, Mr. Paul will be hard-pressed to stop progress on the bill. Mr. Paul could resume his protest at later stages of the debate — but again, procedural time constraints will ultimately frustrate his efforts.
In the process though, his threats could complicate matters for lawmakers who were hoping to secure votes on high-profile amendments they want to attach to the defense bill.
On Monday, bipartisan teams of senators introduced measures to push back on President Donald Trump’s order to ban transgender troops from serving openly in the military and to increase sanctions against North Korea.
Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Susan Collins, RMaine, filed an amendment that would prohibit the Pentagon from discharging troops because of gender identity and state that Congress believes qualified individuals should be able to serve, regardless of gender. The measure also requires Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to report the results of an ongoing study of transgender troops to Congress by the end of the year.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., controls the defense bill in the Senate, a job that this year has extra significance following his recent announcement that he was diagnosed with brain cancer.
Last week, Mr. McCain suggested that the amendment put forth by Ms. Gillibrand and Ms. Collins was probablypremature because Mr. Mattis would not complete his planned review of serving transgender troops until Feb. 1. It is unclear whether the amendment’s accelerated timetable, requiring Mr. Mattis to report to transgender troops by the end of the year.