In a message accompanying his veto, Nixon argued that the resolution “would attempt to take away, by a mere legislative act, authorities which the President has properly exercised under the Constitution for almost 200 years.”Ĭongress overrode Nixon’s veto, but he wasn’t the last chief executive to bristle at the restrictions of the War Powers Act. President Nixon was an early critic of the War Powers Act, and he vetoed the law on the grounds that it was an “unconstitutional and dangerous” check on his duties as commander-in-chief of the military. Disturbed by revelations about the Vietnam conflict-including news that Nixon had been conducting a secret bombing campaign in Cambodia-the House and Senate crafted the War Powers Act as a means of reasserting Congressional authority over foreign wars. Legislative efforts to reign in presidential war powers coalesced during the Nixon administration. troops to the Korean War as part of a United Nations “police action,” and Presidents Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon had overseen the long and controversial undeclared conflict during the Vietnam War. By the 1970s, however, many lawmakers had grown wary of presidents deploying the armed forces abroad without first consulting Congress. These provisions were traditionally interpreted to mean that Congress had to approve American involvement in overseas wars. Congress, meanwhile, is vested with the power “to declare war” and “raise and support armies.” As commander-in-chief of the military, the president is charged with directing the armed forces. Constitution, the power to make war is shared by the executive and legislative branches. The War Powers Resolution of 1973 Origins of the War Powers Act The resolution also sets down reporting requirements for the chief executive, including the responsibility to notify Congress within 48 hours whenever military forces are introduced “into hostilities or into situations where imminent involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated by the circumstances.”Īdditionally, the law stipulates that Presidents are required to end foreign military actions after 60 days unless Congress provides a declaration of war or an authorization for the operation to continue. To that end, it requires the President to consult with the legislature “in every possible instance” before committing troops to war.

The law’s text frames it as a means of guaranteeing that “the collective judgment of both the Congress and the President will apply” whenever the American armed forces are deployed overseas. The War Powers Act-officially called the War Powers Resolution-was enacted in November 1973 over an executive veto by President Richard M.

Commander in chief powers