Congress Must Exercise Treaty and War Powers

President Trump’s meeting with North Korean head of state Kim Jong-un and the tentative agreement they recently announced caused a stir throughout the global halls of power — including the United States Senate. Leaders from both parties expressed skepticism about any nuclear deal negotiated between the two leaders and declared their intention to review and vote on whatever agreement is finalized. Others rushed to the Senate floor to file amendments to the annual defense bill in order to restrict the president’s authority to remove American troops from the Korean Peninsula.

The Senate’s renewed interest in foreign policy and military activities is not only necessary but refreshing, given its recent history of affording the executive branch broad latitude on such issues. However, the inconsistencies in the way Congress chooses to carry out its constitutionally mandated responsibilities — and the reasons members of Congress decide to do so — are troublesome.

The relationship between the legislative and executive branches over their shared powers on issues of war and agreements with foreign nations has been difficult since the ink dried on the Constitution. The Constitution makes the president the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, while giving Congress the authority to declare war. Article II gives the executive the power to make treaties with foreign nations, provided that the agreements receive consent from two-thirds of the Senate.

While complicated, this conflict was intentionally designed in the best interests of our democracy. Matters of war and peace are perhaps the most difficult and risky endeavors for a nation. The framers of the Constitution understood the need for expediency, secrecy, and clarity of command from the executive branch, while designing Congress to be a bulwark against presidential overreach and establishing consistency in governance as presidential terms cycled.

James Wilson, a member of the Continental Congress from Pennsylvania and drafter of the Constitution, stated: “This system will not hurry us into war; it is calculated to guard against it. It will not be in the power of a single man, or a single body of men, to involve us in such distress; for the important power of declaring war is vested in the legislature at large.”