Under the 1973 War Powers Resolution*, the President has 60 days to obtain approval from Congress for military action. When it comes to bombing civilian boats in the Caribbean, that day is November 4th.
Yet the White House doesn’t plan on asking for an okay, although Donald Trump met the 48 hour deadline for alerting Congress that hostilities had begun.
According to The Washington Post:
[T. Elliot Gaiser, head of the Trump administration’s Office of Legal Counsel] has told lawmakers that the Trump administration can continue its lethal strikes against alleged drug traffickers in Latin America — and is not bound by a decades-old law requiring Congress to give approval for ongoing hostilities.
That’s right. They claim the law doesn’t apply because the military isn’t at risk.
“What they’re saying is anytime the president uses drones or any standoff weapon against someone who cannot shoot back, it’s not hostilities‚” said Brian Finucane, a former legal adviser to the State Department who is now a senior adviser for the U.S. program at the International Crisis Group. “It’s a wild claim of executive authority”…
Both Democratic and Republican administrations over the years have “used creative interpretations of the law to skirt the deadline,” he said, but they were not targeting civilians who are not at war with the United States.
Trump has placed eight US Navy warships off the coast of Venezuela as well as an aircraft carrier. He also keeps saying strikes might move from sea to land.
Trump has briefed Republicans on the military action in the Caribbean but excluded Democrats.
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The 1973 War Powers Resolution “is a congressional resolution designed to limit the U.S. president’s ability to initiate or escalate military actions abroad.”
Known for gnawing at complex questions like a terrier with a bone. Digital evangelist, writer, teacher. Transplanted Southerner; teach newbies to ride motorcycles. @kegill (Twitter and Mastodon.social); wiredpen.com