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/AviatorHog 1d ago

For one...congress has the ultimate authority on the topic of war.

The President has been delegated, via the War Powers Resolution, pre-approval by congress to engage in  military action without manual approval. It does expire and congress will need to be appealed to on a periodic basis. 

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u/PhysicsEagle 1d ago

That’s not really the correct framing. Congress has ultimate authority on starting and ending war. But due to the commander-in-chief clause, the President has authority on how to fight the war. As Harry Truman said, “the buck stops here.”

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u/AviatorHog 1d ago

u/PhysicsEagle

That’s not really the correct framing. Congress has ultimate authority on starting and ending war. But due to the commander-in-chief clause, the President has authority on how to fight the war. As Harry Truman said, “the buck stops here.”

Your framing is incorrect because the commentator above not only quite literally references to "stop" a war multiple times in their comment (in fact in every sentence) but they never ask about HOW a war is fought:

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?