Sen. Rand Paul gains key ally in combat authorization fight, as Kaine joins him

Sen. Rand Paul gained an important ally Tuesday in his quest to have the Senate vote to force a debate on authorizing the military’s combat operations against extremist groups, as Sen. Tim Kaine signaled he was ready to come on board.

Kaine (D-Va.), who has been one of the Senate’s most consistent voices urging Congress to weigh in on the military’s engagement against extremist forces in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, said Tuesday that he would support Paul’s (R-Ky.) amendment if it comes up for a vote.

“I view his amendment as an attempt to force Congress to do what it should do,” Kaine said. “I think it is way past time, way past time, for Congress to take this up and for everybody to be on the record.”

It’s a change of heart for Kaine, who was quick to criticize last week when Paul launched his effort to add to the defense bill a six-month deadline to pass an authorization for military force. He said Paul’s campaign would “unnecessarily” hold up progress on the defense bill and that such a delay would “be a disservice to our service members and their families.” He added that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was the proper forum in which to debate an Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF).

But Tuesday, Kaine’s patience appeared to have waned. He announced on the floor that he is “supporting Senator Paul’s amendment,” because there was “no particular motive or forcing mechanism that has made the committee take this up.”

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), who has promised his panel will tackle an AUMF proposal soon, is not expected to object to Paul’s amendment coming up for a vote.

Kaine’s turnaround is an important boost for Paul, who often has been on his own in advocating isolationist positions. Paul was alone Monday in threatening to block progress on the defense bill until lawmakers tackle his AUMF amendment.

Practically speaking, Paul’s ability to block progress on the defense bill is limited: He can slow the debate to advocate for his AUMF measure, but he cannot indefinitely prevent the defense bill from advancing.

A spokeswoman for Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.), who is in charge of the defense bill’s progress through the Senate, would not say Tuesday whether leaders were planning on allowing a vote on Paul’s amendment.

Should Paul’s amendment be successful, the subsequent AUMF debate probably would focus on a pending proposal from Kaine and Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.). Their proposal would replace the 2001 AUMF, which Congress passed to greenlight the war in Afghanistan, with a new measure focused on fighting extremist groups such as al-Qaeda, the Islamic State and the Taliban.

But not all proponents of that AUMF support Paul’s effort to impose a deadline for the debate — including Flake.

“Ultimately I cannot support my colleague’s effort to repeal the 2001 AUMF in six months because of the very real risk associated with repealing such a vital law before we have something to replace it with,” Flake said Tuesday.