Trump attacks Syria, but did he shoot himself in the foot?
US President Donald Trump launched an airstrike of 50 missiles against an airfield in Syria. The strike was a response to the horrifying chemical attacks this week. The attack seemed like an appropriate and proportionate military response to the horrible violence. But what will come of it?
While the impact of this is yet unclear on a global scale, one thing is clear: this strike is getting Trump trouble at home. The missile strike is an act of war. Since the US was previously not at war with Syria, Trump needed congress to approve. But they didn’t. And he didn’t ask.
According to the United States constitution, Congress has the power to declare war. So, not very surprisingly, Senator Rand Paul took to Twitter to point out that Trump was amiss.
The President needs Congressional authorization for military action as required by the Constitution.
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) April 7, 2017
We’ll be very curious to see how this pans out. Ignoring Congress by ruling via executive orders got Obama accused of dictatorial leadership. How will Congress respond to a President actually ignoring the Constitution before going to war?