The Republican on how war-making power must return to Congress:

Nearly two decades after Congress approved the invasion of Iraq, the legislature is preparing to rescind that vote, as well as a prior war authorization. It is long past time for such a move.

The so-called Authorization for the Use of Military Force, passed in 2002, gave President George W. Bush authority to launch an invasion of Iraq. The claim was Iraq’s president, Saddam Hussein, had weapons of mass destruction. He didn’t.

This cannot be dismissed as a misstep at the time. It was the justification offered for war. Without the supposed weapons of mass destruction, there’d have been no invasion.

The Senate on Thursday took an initial step toward removing the war authorization, as well as a separate measure that preceded the Gulf War in 1991. This is to be commended. A full vote on rescinding both resolutions could be held in coming days.

That would be only half of what’s needed. It isn’t at all clear when, or whether, the House of Representatives will take up the issue. If it does not, the Senate vote will come to nothing.

Over the years, presidents from both parties have used the military force resolutions to allow them to take actions without getting a green light from Congress. This is not how things are supposed to work in the United States.

Congress, not the president, has war powers. So says the Constitution, though you’d not be aware of this given recent decades. In many cases, presidents act, and lawmakers look on, with some of them occasionally commenting.

Our nation was created as a constitutional republic in large part in reaction to the excesses of the British kingdom from which we separated. Rather than having a sovereign who made all the calls, we’d have a bicameral legislature — and all those states — to keep things in check.

We must get back to what was envisioned.

No president should be able to hide behind a 20-year-old act of Congress to shield extraconstitutional moves.

Congress should rescind both acts, reasserting its authority over war powers.