Congress has stopped presidents from waging wars — so it can stop Trump now

By Sarah Burns, Associate Professor of Political Science, Rochester Institute of Technology.

Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war, not the president. But most modern presidents and their legal counsel have asserted that Article 2 allows the president to use the military in certain situations without prior congressional approval — and have acted on that, sending troops into conflicts from Panama to Libya with no regard for Congress’ will.

Congress...