Republican senator Rand Paul wrote on Monday that the White House’s fight against the Islamic State is “now illegal,” excoriating lawmakers in both parties who have given President Obama a blank check to wage war.
In an op-ed published in the Daily Beast, the Kentucky politician and probable presidential candidate declared that the continued military operations in Iraq and Syria now violate both the War Powers Resolution and the constitutional separation of powers.
“I believe the president must come to Congress to declare war,” Paul wrote. The senator explained that the White House’s Islamic State campaign has continued past the 90-day deadline imposed by the 1973 War Powers Resolution. Under that statute, President Obama had 60 days to use military force before receiving congressional authorization, and a further 30 days to end hostilities if he failed to do so, Rand argued.
“This war is now illegal,” he wrote. “It must be declared and made valid, or it must be ended. . . . Congress has a duty to act, one way or another.”
Although Paul supports the fight against the Islamic State, he railed against both Democrats and Republicans for their refusal to stand against what he sees as a White House power grab. And he saved his strongest ire for fellow conservatives.
“Conservatives who blast the president for ignoring the separation of powers on immigration display a fatal inconsistency by embracing unlimited war-making powers,” he cautioned. “If ever there was too much bipartisanship, it would be the bipartisan acceptance of unlimited presidential war-making power.”
Paul’s view of the president’s foreign policy authority is at odds with many in his own party, and will likely play an important — if not the key — role in his performance during the GOP’s presidential primaries in 2016.