Trump’s Legitimate Use of War Powers Triggers Wave of Hypocrisy as Democrats Claim ‘Constitutional’ Scruples

Even Americans who loathe President Trump should be capable of seeing that America and the world are safer without a nuclear-capable Iran. Trump derangement is blinding them.On Saturday night, Mr. Trump and the American military executed a “spectacularly successful” precision bombing of Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities with no American casualties and minimal impact on Iran’s people.Yet now Mr. Trump is being bombarded with attacks here at home. Senator Sanders called Mr. Trump’s strike “grossly unconstitutional,” a claim repeated by Representative Thomas Massie, who has sparred with Mr. Trump on other issues, and Representative Jim Himes.Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and a chorus of Democrats are calling for Mr. Trump’s impeachment.Even New York City’s Democratic mayoral candidates — for whom Trump hatred is a litmus test — are piling on. Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani blasted Mr. Trump’s “unconstitutional military action,” and Comptroller Brad Lander slammed the president’s “reckless & unconstitutional strikes.”These claims are crazy. Prior presidents, including Democrats, like Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, struck foreign targets without consulting Congress first and even waged hostilities for months at a time without authorization from Congress. No one called for their impeachment.Speaker Pelosi, who defended Mr. Obama’s military operations in Libya without congressional authorization when she was House minority leader, slammed Mr. Trump, saying he “ignored the Constitution.” Call her the queen of hypocrisy.As for “ignoring the Constitution,” that’s simply false. Article II states, “The President shall be Commander in Chief.” Mr. Trump clearly acted within his Article II powers.True, Article I gives Congress power to declare war, but war hasn’t been declared since World War II. Yet America has waged at least 125 military operations since then. Declarations of war are an anachronism.The Constitution contains a built-in tension between the branches over when to deploy the military. Congress can exert its authority by refusing to fund ongoing military operations it opposes. Congress limited and finally cut off funding for combat in Vietnam, effectively ending the war in response to rising public discontent. Similarly, Congress used its power of the purse to curtail military operations in Angola, Nicaragua, and Somalia in the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s.War weariness during the prolonged but undeclared war in Vietnam led Congress to try to devise another method: the War Powers Resolution of 1973, designed to put guardrails around the president’s conduct of military operations and guarantee Congress’s involvement short of an actual declaration of war.Yet the War Powers Resolution was controversial and ineffective from the minute it was enacted. Invoking it now, after 50 years of failure, is mere political theater.President Nixon opposed what he called its “dangerous and unconstitutional restrictions” on presidential authority and vetoed it, though Congress overrode his veto.President Reagan also insisted that no mere act of Congress could legitimately narrow the military powers the Constitution grants presidents.President Clinton waived off War Powers Resolution concerns, launching cruise missile attacks on Sudan and Afghanistan in 1998. The following year he defied the resolution to continue bombing in Kosovo. No one talked of impeachment — at least not for that. He was impeached for lovemaking, not making war.Fast-forward to Midnight Hammer, the code name for the strike obliterating Iran’s nuclear facilities early on Sunday.Speaker Johnson, whom Mr. Trump briefed about the strike before it occurred, responded to the barrage of criticism, saying “tonight’s necessary, limited and targeted strike follows the history and tradition of similar military actions under presidents of both parties.”All true.Mr. Massie, a frequent Trump critic, and Representative Ro Khanna are pushing a new resolution that would bar any further action against Iran without congressional approval. Now that the mission has succeeded, let the debate begin. But let’s be clear what the debate is about.Senator Schumer is slamming Mr. Trump’s Saturday surprise, insisting that that “no president should be allowed to unilaterally march this nation into something as consequential as war.”Mr. Schumer’s comment distorts reality. Iran has been waging war against America for decades. Iran’s leaders chant “death to America.” Iranian proxies have attacked American oil tankers on the high seas, assassinated American troops at a military post in Jordan, and plotted the assassination of Mr. Trump. All with impunity.Mr. Trump’s strike against Iran’s nuclear capabilities took the cudgel out of the ayatollah’s hands. No matter how Iran responds, the threat will be less now that the bully has been de-nuked.Creators.com

Trump’s Legitimate Use of War Powers Triggers Wave of Hypocrisy as Democrats Claim ‘Constitutional’ Scruples

More from the New York Sun

The Cloisters Embraces the Ancient Americas, With Uneven Results

Hunter Biden Claims Dad Was Pushed Out of Presidential Race Because He Was Not Part of the ‘Epstein Class’

More from the New York Sun

The Cloisters Embraces the Ancient Americas, With Uneven Results

Hunter Biden Claims Dad Was Pushed Out of Presidential Race Because He Was Not Part of the ‘Epstein Class’

Colbert Marks the End of ‘The Late Show’ With Performance by Paul McCartney, but No Explicit Reference to Trump

The Cultural Significance of Nicki Minaj’s Conservatism

News Aggregators Reinforcing Political Ignorance, Especially for Young Americans

‘Whites-Only’ Community Sued After Rejecting Woman Over Her Jewish Ancestry, Black Husband

Trump’s Tariffs Are Fueling Voters’ Frustration Over Affordability

Newsom Suggests Universal Basic Capital as Solution to AI-Driven Unemployment