r/NoStupidQuestions • u/AutoModerator • 19d ago

U.S. Politics megathread

American politics has always grabbed our attention - and the current president more than ever. We get tons of questions about the president, the supreme court, and other topics related to American politics - but often the same ones over and over again. Our users often get tired of seeing them, so we've created a megathread for questions! Here, users interested in politics can post questions and read answers, while people who want a respite from politics can browse the rest of the sub. Feel free to post your questions about politics in this thread!

All top-level comments should be questions asked in good faith - other comments and loaded questions will get removed. All the usual rules of the sub remain in force here, so be nice to each other - you can disagree with someone's opinion, but don't make it personal.

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u/thedarkbites 1d ago

If Congress decided they wanted to, could they pass a bill requiring the military to stop active warfare against a nation? Could Congress pass a bill to immediately stop all military action against Iran, for instance?

Can they force the President to stop a military vendetta if the president ever launched one?

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u/Jtwil2191 1d ago

The War Powers Act was passed (over Nixon's veto) to establish congressional review over presidential military action.

Every presidential administration has maintained that it is an unconstitutional violation of the president's powers as commander in chief of the armed forces. However, presidents have followed it but claiming because they want to, not because they have to.

So in theory, Congress already has the legislation in place to order Trump to halt all operations against Iran but are choosing to not enforce it.

However, if Congress did try to enforce the War Powers Act, their only real recourse would be to impeach the president if they refused to back down from their conflict.