“The Constitution has much to say to us regarding foreign policy, if we will only listen. For over half a century the two major parties have done their best to ignore what it has to say.”—Ron Paul
Since taking office, President Trump has escalated military involvement in Yemen. His administration ordered airstrikes targeting Iran-backed Houthi rebels, citing their attacks on shipping lanes in the Red Sea. These strikes have resulted in significant casualties, including civilians.
President Trump did not secure a formal declaration of war or any comparable congressional authorization for the military actions in Yemen. Does the Constitution allow the President to take military action unilaterally? There are some who say that the Constitution is ambiguous on the issue. Edwin S. Corwin in The President: Office and Powers, 1878-1957 has argued that the Constitution is a tussle for control between the executive and legislature. It is, he claims, “an invitation to struggle for the privilege of directing American foreign policy.”
I contend that Corwin is mistaken in proposing that the Constitution invites struggle. To the contrary, the text is clear and unambiguous in its support of legislative supremacy over the initiation of war. It indicates the following: 1) only Congress can initiate hostilities; 2) the President is limited to managing a war once it has been declared by the legislative branch; 3) the President’s authority to act without prior congressional approval is confined to imminent or sudden attacks. We find support for these statements in the historical record.
It looks to me, IMHO, that Trump did have the authority of the constitution to defend against attacks upon our navy and merchant marine. However, to stretch that to cover anybody else’s merchant marine or navy may not have been authorized by the constitution without consultation with Congress. You will notice that he quit once the Yemenis said they would not attack our vessels anymore. That, I think, was within his authority and looks to be the same kind of case as Jefferson’s assault on the Barbary Pirates. So, what is the deal with people squawking about it, when other Presidents started full-scale, twenty-year wars ore police actions.