Lawmakers Urge Biden to Get Congressional Approval Before Using US Troops in Ukraine

President Joe Biden speaks to update the situation of the Ukraine-Russia border crisis during an event in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 18, 2022. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

A bipartisan group of lawmakers, including members of the “Squad” and the Freedom Caucus, sent a letter to President Joe Biden asking him to call on Congress to authorize using U.S. forces in Ukraine.

“As you evaluate your possible course of action to address the potential conflict between Russia and Ukraine, we write to reassert the war powers vested in Congress under the U.S. Constitution and the War Powers Resolution of 1973,” the letter to Biden reads.

In several speeches over the past week, Biden said that he would not deploy troops to Ukraine.

“However, if the ongoing situation compels you to introduce the brave men and women of our military into Ukraine, their lives would inherently be put at risk if Russia chooses to invade,” the letter says. “Therefore, we ask that your decisions comport with the Constitution and our nation’s laws by consulting with Congress to receive authorization before any such deployment.”

Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) and Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) led the group of 43 members of Congress.

Several members of the “Squad,” including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Cori Bush (D-Mo.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), and others, signed the letter. Meanwhile, members of the Freedom Caucus such as Reps. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Paul Goas (R-Ariz.), Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), and Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) also signed the measure.

On Tuesday, Biden announced sanctions against two Russian banks, several Russian “elites,” and Russian sovereign debt after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced he would recognize the Donetsk and Lugansk separatist regions in Ukraine as sovereign. It came as Western officials said that more than 150,000 Russian soldiers, tanks, artillery, and thermobaric weapons massed around Ukraine’s borders.

Ukraine is not a member of NATO, meaning that the United States and its allies have no obligation to defend it. Meanwhile, one of Putin’s demands is that Ukraine cannot be admitted into the security organization.

Biden announced that he would send U.S. troops already stationed in Europe to the Baltic nations of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, which all share a border with Russia, amid the crisis. The Defense Department in a news release confirmed that troops would be deployed to those countries and Poland, which are all members of NATO.

“We strongly urge your administration to respect the separation of powers, U.S. law, and Congress’sconstitutional war powers authority,” the letter reads. “Should your administration seek to introduce U.S. Armed Forces into hostilities or decline to remove any U.S. military personnel currently deployed inside Ukraine from unauthorized hostilities or imminent hostilities, Congress stands ready to deliberate over the potentially monumental implications of such scenarios.”

It adds: “The American people, through their representatives in congress, deserve to have a say before U.S. troops are placed in harm’s way or the U.S. becomes involved in yet another foreign conflict.”