Congress and the President
Discussion: Congress and the President.
James,
With what is going on in the United States with the coronavirus, I am learning more about states’ rights and presidential powers than I ever have before. In Colombia, where my family is currently living, the Colombian President ordered a quarantine of the whole country for the last 55 days. It is starting to slowly open back up, but the numbers are still increasing. In the United States, President Trump has left the quarantine and restrictions up to the governors due to limitations on his powers and longstanding U.S. traditions of state autonomy. The concept of checks and balances is one of the core principles of the U.S. democracy at both the federal and state level. According to this week’s reading, “Political power enables the state to make laws that bind the whole of society in support of the public good.”
Conflicts abroad have been going on since the independence of the United States, yet actual declared wars are an entirely different story. The last time Congress officially declared war was for World War II on December 8, 1941, but we have been active participants in conflicts in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq twice, and Afghanistan. According to Cornell Law, “War Powers Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 of the U.S. Constitution grants Congress the power to declare war. The President, meanwhile, derives the power to direct the military after a Congressional declaration of war from Article II, Section 2, which names the President Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.” This seems to suggest we haven’t officially been at war since World War II despite taking part in more than 200 conflicts.
The President of the United States has a tremendous amount of authorities and responsibilities, including the power of the military that he’s in control of. Congress as an institution also has a great deal of power. When the constitution was written, every branch was given its own authorities so that no one entity would have too much power. As today’s Congress is so divided along partisan lines, it is very difficult to get anything approved, especially serious issues that can potentially be divisive. So, if the executive branch requested through Congress for approval to authorize an armed conflict, it would most likely be met with delays, which could harm the nation’s interests. Even though Congress has not declared war since World War II, they are still responsible for the nation’s budget. Thus, if they wouldn’t approve a budget, the military would have the money to fight.
In my opinion, the President, whether Democrat or Republican, should have the authority to commit the nation’s Armed Forces in conflicts abroad. The question for me is for how long and how large of a conflict? Congress should have a say in any war or an extended conflict. Since the constitution hasn’t been amended for these types of decisions, the President and Congress will continue following the unwritten rule that the President may direct the country into conflicts. The current partisan nature of Congress means that it’s unlikely that the laws will change anytime soon.
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