Response to Jasmine Farrier’s Review of The Politics of War Powers: The Theory and History of Presidential Unilateralism

Despite major changes to the balance of power between the executive and legislative branches in the realm of foreign affairs, with a few exceptions federal judges refuse to hear cases brought by members of Congress who ask the judiciary to constrain presidential unilateralism. For better or worse, they leave the political branches to sort out the dispute themselves, occasionally telling the plaintiffs that Congress possesses the formal powers needed to address executive overreach. Because of this state of affairs, the judiciary does not figure into the central concern of my book: the failure of Congress to impose serious constraints on the executive, which has caused significant problems at home and abroad. On paper, it is therefore constitutionally possible for Congress to display the bipartisanship and branch unity needed to pass a bill that would constrain the executive and survive the inevitable presidential veto.