Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) introduced a joint resolution (S. J. Res. 44) to direct the president to remove U.S. Armed Forces from hostilities in or affecting Niger. The resolution noted that a coup d’etat in July 2023 triggered a regional conflict that threatens to involve U.S. military forces in the country. As of June 2023, more than 1,000 members of the U.S. military were deployed there.
The Senate blocked Paul’s joint resolution on October 26, 2023 by a vote of 11 to 86 (Roll Call 270). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because the deployment of U.S. forces to Niger was not specifically authorized by Congress, and under the Constitution only Congress has the power to declare war.
