Julian Zelizer:
Welcome back to Then and Now. I’m Julian Zelizer of The Long View.
Jonathan Alter:
And I’m Jonathan Alter of Old Goats.
Zelizer:
I’ve been thinking this week about the War Powers Resolution. The Senate just killed a resolution, pushed initially with bipartisan support, that would have put limits on what the administration could do. Senate Republicans ultimately blocked it.
Back in 1973, Congress was grappling with a president who was using war powers aggressively. Lawmakers were responding both to the Vietnam War and, as we discussed last week, to the discovery and announcement that President Nixon had expanded the conflict into Cambodia.
That year, with strong bipartisan support, Congress passed the War Powers Resolution. It required presidents to notify Congress about troop deployments and imposed a timetable on how long those deployments could last without congressional authorization. It was a major reform of war powers, the first serious effort since the U.S. entered the Korean War in 1950 to claw back authority that had shifted to the executive branch.
It hasn’t worked exactly as intended. The president remains extremely powerful. Still, it’s notable that Congress tried, and that it created a framework that still exists today. Watching this very different outcome unfold now made me think about that moment, and I’m curious about your thoughts.
Alter:
This tug of war between Congress and the president has existed in every administration, Democratic and Republican. This is not a case where Donald Trump is doing something entirely unprecedented.
That twilight zone, as it’s often called, between Article I and Article II powers in the Constitution is simply part of the American experiment. There’s always been push and pull. What has largely been settled over the past fifty years is that there will be at least some notification to Congress. Typically, presidents brief what’s known as the Gang of Eight, the eight congressional leaders from both parties, shortly before undertaking military action.
This time, Trump said he spoke only to Republicans, arguing that Democrats couldn’t be trusted. That politicizes the process at a moment when, traditionally, politics ends at the water’s edge. That is unprecedented, refusing to work with both parties when informing Congress.
The other question is what happens after the 60 day limit specified in the War Powers Resolution expires. George W. Bush went to Congress for an authorization for the use of force, as did his father. There is precedent for Congress insisting that if troops are going to remain deployed for a sustained period, lawmakers get to vote.
We’ll see whether Trump keeps troops anywhere long enough for that to become an issue. But in the short term, the notification requirements under the law are clear, and he simply blew right through them.
Zelizer:
It’s an important comparison, and those are important points, both about precedent and about what’s different, which is always the challenge when assessing this administration.
That’s Then and Now. Jon, we’ll talk again next week. As always, it’s a pleasure to share this space.
Alter:
Thanks, Julian. Bye bye.
