House Votes to Repeal Iraq War Authorization, Common Defense Veterans Commend Bipartisan Effort
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 11, 2025
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, the House voted to repeal the 1991 and 2002 Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMF). Common Defense, a national organization of veterans and military families, commends this bipartisan amendment as a historic step toward ending "forever wars."
The vote comes as the Trump administration used these authorizations as a justification for striking an alleged drug boat departing from Venezuela. This highlights the potential danger of using these authorizations of military force, which can lead to escalating tensions with countries without proper Congressional approval.
In response, Naveed Shah, Common Defense’s Political Director and an Army veteran who was deployed to Iraq in 2011, stated:
“It is crucial for our nation to carefully consider engaging in battle, rather than allowing a single tyrannical leader to make that decision for us and to send troops into harm's way. The repeal of the Iraq War Authorization is an important step toward upholding our Constitution. As an Iraq War veteran, I witnessed the devastating effects of war on both our soldiers and the civilians of Iraq. Decades later, we still operate under the shadow of these war authorizations, which serve as a painful reminder of our country’s mistakes. Veterans like me welcome this repeal and hope it leads to more bipartisan efforts to end forever wars, ensuring that no one individual has the power to send our troops into danger. As this measure moves to the Senate, we hope it remains in the NDAA"
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Common Defense Civic Engagement is a grassroots, veteran-led organization (501c4) that was founded in 2016. We empower veterans to stand up for our communities against the rising tide of racism, hate, and violence, to organize against the entrenched powers that have rigged our economy, and to champion an equitable and representative democracy, where “liberty and justice” truly is for all. For too long, politicians from both political parties have attempted to use veterans as unwilling political props, and Common Defense serves as a home for veterans to organize and speak for themselves and support the candidates who truly share our values.