Outside the Beltway

Will Congress now take some responsibilty?

Presidents have gotten away with ignoring Congress when it comes to foreign military adventures for a very long time.

An Example of How Institutions Matter.

The U.S. is now confirming that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons. What’s next?

Conservatives complaining about biased coverage from the liberal media should instead look in the mirror.

Like the men who came before him, Barack Obama has vastly increased the powers of his office. Someone should have asked him about that last night.

Mitt Romney is a deeply flawed candidate, but that doesn’t mean the President is any better.

Rand Paul calls Mitt Romney out over his comments about Presidential War Powers.

Mitt Romney believes he could take America to war without Congressional involvement.

Yes, it is too hard to amend. A few quick thoughts on the subject.

Charlie Savage documents a major shift in Barack Obama’s philosophy of presidential authority.

According to some historians, a President isn’t truly great unless he involves America in a bloody and destructive war.

Not surprisingly, most of the Republican candidates for President aren’t too keen on reducing the excessive growth in Executive Branch power.

Gaddafi is dead, but it was still wrong for the United States to get involved in Libya.

Obama is trying to get into Guinness under “US President with Most Simultaneous Wars”

Where should we look to understand the failings of the government?

Giving the President the unchecked power to kill American citizens raises some serious red flags.

Success in Libya does not make the American mission any less unjustified than it was on the day President Obama announced it.

Steve Benen has coined the phrase “Thank America Last” to describe those avoiding praise of President Obama for success in Libya.

The US handing Libya over to NATO is “like Beyonce saying she’s ceding control to Sasha Fierce!” – Jon Stewart

While the Constitutionality of the War Powers Act is indeed dubious, the fact that it was passed over Nixon’s veto isn’t the reason.

Yes, you read that correctly.

Congress had a chance to send a strong message to the Executive Branch today. They failed.

Is Congress set to vote to authorize military action in Libya?

Contrary to what Senator McCain, seeking realism in military policy does not make one an isolationist.

President Obama overruled his top legal advisors in deciding that the Libya operation does not amount to “hostilities” under the War Powers Act.

The White House’s assertion that Libya isn’t covered by the War Powers Act isn’t being accepted on Capitol Hill.

The Obama Administration tells Congress that it doesn’t need to comply with the War Powers Act because the Act does not apply to the mission in Libya.

Dennis Kucinich and nine other Members of Congress are suing the President. They won’t get very far.

Sandy Levinson suggests that there is a key lesson from the Founders that we ignore.

The House GOP and the White House moved one step closer to a constitutional confrontation, but is it much ado about nothing?

The War Powers Act’s 90 day limit is in sight. Will Congress force the president’s hand?

Clearly there’s a large ambiguity in the Constitutional gap between the two separate war-related powers of Congress and the Executive. The WPA can be seen as an attempt to resolve it but can’t if it’s unconstitutional.

American drone strikes in Yemen are intensifying. Is this a new war. or just the same one we’ve been fighting since October 2001?

The House of Representatives has voted 416-5 for a resolution prohibiting President Obama from sending ground troops to Libya

The Obama Administration is offering an odd explanation for why it doesn’t need to comply with the War Powers Act.

It has now been 60 days since American involvement in Libya commenced. Congress has failed to act, and that’s their fault.

Once again, Congressional abdication has led to an Executive Branch power grab.

Is the war in Libya illegal?

The 60 day deadline for Presidential discretion under the War Powers Act will expire next week. Congress won’t do anything about it.

A comedian-turned-Senator makes some strong points about how America goes to war.