War Powers
The Korea War Powers Precedent
Charles A. Stevenson Thu, Jul 23, 2020, 10:52 AM
Seventy years ago, Congress abdicated its power to declare war. Here’s how it happened.
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.