Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) blasted Speaker Paul Ryan late Tuesday, saying the Wisconsin Republican “stripped” her Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) repeal amendment in the “dead of night.”
Lee said in a tweet the move was “underhanded & undemocratic,” adding that “the people deserve a debate!”
“Ryan stripped my 01 AUMF repeal amdt from DOD Approps in the dead of night. This is underhanded & undemocratic. The people deserve a debate!” Lee said.
“Ryan should be ashamed of himself for forcing Republicans to strip out my bipartisan AUMF amdt in the dead of night. What is he afraid of?”
{mosads}Lee had previously feared her provision forcing Congress to vote on a new AUMF would be stripped out of the House Appropriations defense spending bill.
She had offered an amendment to revoke a 2001 AUMF in eight months.
The measure was surprisingly backed by both Republicans and Democrats when it was voted into the House defense spending bill in late June.
That war authorization, passed in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, as well as a 2002 authorization for the Iraq War, have together been used more than 37 times in the last 16 years by the past three presidents to justify military action in 14 countries, including the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
Lee said after a meeting with Ryan earlier this month that he “did not commit to preserving this amendment in the Rules Committee.”