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War Powers

The White House / Ben Balter (background)

Throughout history, presidents and congresses have jockeyed for control over war powers. Article I of the Constitution grants Congress the exclusive authority to declare war, while Article II names the President as “Commander in Chief” of the army, navy and militia. The jockeying reached a watershed moment of congressional assertiveness with the passage of the 1973 War Powers Act. Since then, however, presidential war-making power has been in a state of near-constant expansion—an expansion only accelerated by overseas counterterrorism actions and recent presidential military actions in Libya and Syria.

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AUMF
AUMF: Legislative Reaffirmation
War Powers Resolution: Libya
AUMF: Scope and Reach
War Powers Resolution: Mali
War Powers Resolution: Syria
AUMF: Syria
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Latest in War Powers

AUMF

A Fast Track to Nowhere: ‘Expedited Procedures’ and the New AUMF Proposal

Scott R. Anderson, Molly E. Reynolds   Thu, Apr 19, 2018, 9:04 AM

The new draft AUMF promotes greater transparency and congressional involvement in deciding on the scope of U.S. counterterrorism operations, but it primarily serves to give Congress political leverage. As a legal matter, it leaves the president firmly in control.

Executive Power

Transcript: President Trump's Remarks on Syria Airstrikes

Quinta Jurecic   Fri, Apr 13, 2018, 9:55 PM

Below is a transcript of President Trump's remarks announcing airstrikes in Syria this evening. The government has also released an assessment of the use of chemical weapons by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, also included below.

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

________________________________________________________________

          For Immediate Release                                                April 13, 2018

War Powers

Document: White House Legal and Policy Frameworks for Use of Military Force

Matthew Kahn   Wed, Mar 14, 2018, 9:01 PM

The New York Times has published the White House's unclassified "Report on the Legal and Policy Frameworks Guiding the United States' Use of Military Force for National Security Operations." As Scott Anderson and Alison Murphy noted earlier today on Lawfare, the report notes a previously undisclosed military encounter between U.S. forces and forces associated with the Islamic State on Dec. 6 of last year.

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