On Jan. 8, the U.S. Senate narrowly supported a procedural vote to move forward with a War Powers Resolution, limiting the president in using our military forces overseas. The vote was 52-47, with 51 needed to pass.
Five Republicans joined all Senate Democrats in support of the measure. They were Senators Susan Collins of Maine, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Todd Young of Indiana.
The 1973 War Powers Resolution is being revived. This passed over the veto of besieged President Richard Nixon, entangled in the self-inflicted Watergate scandal. This law stipulates that the president may use military force overseas for a maximum of 60 days without congressional authorization, with an additional 30 days available to conduct withdrawal. Under this statute, Congress can also order the immediate withdrawal of forces.
From the beginning, there has been tension between the executive and legislative branches over foreign policy and war. President Thomas Jefferson took independent initiative to protect American ships from armed attack, but informed Congress.
President Abraham Lincoln provides the most dramatic example of operating independently of Congress. He provoked the Confederacy into firing the first shots in the Civil War, then delayed convening Congress to preclude being limited or overruled.
Lincoln argued that the Constitution was never intended to facilitate national destruction. He assembled military forces and spent public funds without appropriation. Federal agents monitored and arrested people arbitrarily. A naval blockade was instituted. He insisted the conflict was a domestic disturbance.
President Franklin Roosevelt, while a reformer domestically, was relatively cautious in foreign affairs until World War II. Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor ended powerful American isolationism. Successor Harry Truman significantly strengthened presidential authority regarding war.
In late June 1950, North Korean forces invaded South Korea. The United Nations Security Council (with the Soviet member absent) voted to repel the attack. Under this authority, and also a resolution of the Organization of American States, Truman committed American forces to the UN effort.
Congressional leaders were consulted, and concurred that a declaration of war was not necessary. This set a precedent for later executive branch independence in using force, most notably in Vietnam.
The memoirs of Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who served both Nixon and successor Gerald Ford, describe careful consideration accorded to the War Powers Act during those turbulent years, but over time, this law faded in influence. The Ronald Reagan administration successfully resisted invoking the act in deploying U.S. military forces to the Middle East, bombing Libya and the invasion of Grenada.
President George H.W. Bush proved to be a particularly strong and decisive leader in reasserting executive authority. Operation Just Cause, the U.S. military intervention in Panama, was conducted without advance congressional approval. Bush did provide a report to Congress afterwards, noting in passing the War Powers Act.
Underscoring the importance of the Truman precedent, Bush explicitly declared the U.S. was authorized to participate in the First Gulf War under the authority of the United Nations. However, he also secured a resolution of support from Congress,
These precedents eased the use of force without congressional authorization. President Bill Clinton did so in the 1999 Kosovo War, and President Barack Obama in 2011 strikes in Libya. In both cases, NATO — and in the latter, the UN — authorized force.
Obama also declared chemical weapons use by Syria intolerable, though when they were used, he referred to Congress. Russia’s diplomats resolved that crisis.
Bipartisan congressional pressures may eventually limit President Donald Trump’s overseas adventures, though he vows otherwise. Stay tuned and very alert.
Arthur I. Cyr is author of “After the Cold War.”
Contact acyr@carthage.edu
