Congress’ last stand? The waning grip on presidential wars
TL;DR Summary
Decades after Congress passed the 1973 War Powers Resolution to curb presidential war-making, presidents have largely acted with limited congressional approval by leaning on broad 2001/2002 authorizations. Today’s Iran debate shows a fragmented Congress unlikely to reclaim a decisive check, a stark contrast to the Vietnam-era moment when Congress asserted its authority. The piece uses Madison’s idea that ambition must counter ambition to frame the ongoing struggle over congressional power in war.
Topics:world#authorization-for-use-of-military-force#congress#iran#politics#vietnam-war#war-powers-resolution
- Congress once fought to limit a president’s war powers − more than 50 years later, its successors are less willing to assert their authority The Conversation
- Why doesn’t Congress just declare war? CNN
- The Burden That Should Not Be Theirs: How Congress Turned the Military into the Last Check on Illegal War War on the Rocks
- Trump administration waging illegal war on Iran, experts say The Guardian
- Do U.S. Presidents Have the Power to Declare War? The New Yorker
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