Congress will update US military force authorisation
Thursday, August 17, 2017
Subject
The debate on new rules authorising the use of military force.
Significance
When senators return from the summer recess, they will have to consider the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed by the House of Representatives on July 14. This NDAA, the annual spending plan for the US military, drew controversy because of a bipartisan amendment that would have repealed the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), the legal basis for military action in the US global counterterrorism campaign. The amendment was blocked by the speaker of the House, Paul Ryan.
Impacts
- Erratic White House policymaking will spark congressional initiatives to reassert the legislature’s authority.
- Congressional oversight of the armed drone programme will defer to the executive branch.
- Trump’s North Korea threats are generating additional scrutiny of the president’s absolute authority to order a nuclear attack.
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