Biggs, Khanna launch bipartisan War Powers Caucus

Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), the first vice chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, announced an unlikely partnership on Tuesday.

The bipartisan duo launched the War Powers Caucus, a group that says it is “dedicated to restoring Congress’s constitutionally-mandated authority over matters of war and peace.”

According to the caucus’s mission statement, the group is focused on “reclaiming” the legislative branch’s Article I powers: evaluating the costs and benefits of military intervention, seeking diplomatic solutions before resorting to force and ending the U.S.’s involvement in “vaguely defined, open-ended conflicts,” as well as reallocating the country’s resources toward domestic priorities.{mosads}

“We’re concerned about these use of force agreements that are pushing 20 years old being used to justify military intervention by the United States all over the world,” Biggs told The Hill. “And so we want to revisit that and talk about that.”

Khanna said it should be a bipartisan priority to redirect military spending toward “priorities here at home.” 

“I’m proud to launch the War Powers Caucus and thank my co-chair, Rep. Andy Biggs, for leading the way with me to re-establish congressional war-making powers, military restraint, and removing the U.S. from endless wars as the pillars of our foreign policy,” he told The Hill in a statement.

“After the historic, bipartisan passage of the Yemen War Powers Resolution, we encourage our colleagues to join our caucus and help us in our pursuit to make sure Congress remains a co-equal branch of government and has a say in matters of war and peace.”

While Khanna and Biggs may seem like an unlikely duo to launch a caucus, Biggs said: “sometimes you go all the way around the circle.”

The two co-chairs are working to recruit others to the group, which currently has a total of four members, including Reps. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) and Barbara Lee (D-Calif.).