Rand Paul: The war against the Islamic State is 'now illegal'

According to Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), the time when Democrats would resist Republican presidents who were too eager to go to war or who were "too ready to put troops in harm's way without the full consent of the American people" is over.

Now, Paul writes in an opinion piece for The Daily Beast, the tables have turned. Gone are those Democrats "who so vociferously opposed a Republican president's extraconstitutional war-making powers." In are Democrats who refuse to "oppose President Obama's unconstitutional usurpation of war-making powers."

Quoting Yale Professor Bruce Ackerman, Paul declares, "The war against the Islamic State is now illegal," because there has been no Congressional consent for the fighting in the Middle East that continues to be waged.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Obama, Paul says, violated the War Powers Resolution of 1973 by confronting ISIS "hostilities" without obtaining true constitutional authority within 60 days. Obama also failed to end the hostilities within 30 days of not obtaining Congressional approval, which he is required to do, since the U.S. was not under attack at the time.

Paul, who is almost certain to mount a 2016 Republican presidential campaign, asserts his belief that the war against ISIS "must be declared and made valid, or it must be ended."

Paul also calls on all of Congress to act, urging his fellow leaders to halt Obama's other "power grabs," including "unconstitutional executive action on ObamaCare — and his promises to do the same with immigration." Read the whole thing at The Daily Beast.