Law & order

Can Donald Trump Use Military Force Anywhere In The World Whenever He Wants?

Two weeks ago, President Donald Trump ordered a missile strike on an airfield in Syria. The missiles were not aimed at ISIS, nor did they target any al-Qaida-affiliated group. The strike was instead aimed at a Syrian missile base in response to the Assad regime’s recent use of chemical weapons against civilians. Then this Monday, Vice President Pence – standing near the DMZ in South Korea – proclaimed that the United States’ “era of strategic patience” with North Korea is over. Speculation has mounted that the Trump Administration might now be contemplating a preemptive strike.

Such speculation has laid bare one of our nation’s oldest and most vexing constitutional issues: To what extent does the Constitution grant the president the authority to employ armed force without congressional authorization? The debate over this question is as old as the Republic, but rather than clarifying the appropriate contours of presidential power in this realm, the passage of time has only obscured them.