Why Congress can’t claw back war powers from Trump

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. WASHINGTON—In a dizzying three weeks on the world stage, President Trump deposed Venezuela’s leader, threatened its neighbors with military action, raised the specter of new strikes on Iran and ignited—then tamped down—a diplomatic crisis with Europe over his efforts to acquire Greenland. At each fresh turn, Congress has found itself scrambling to keep up, sparking new debates among lawmakers about how to claw back constitutional powers from the presidency over matters of foreign policy in the Trump era.

On Thursday, the Republican-led House defeated a resolution that would restrict Trump’s ability to deploy troops to Venezuela—a full 19 days after the audacious military raid that captured the country’s president. The vote was a tie, 215-215. That action follows a bipartisan Congressional visit to Denmark last week at the height of a diplomatic row between Washington and one of its closest allies that shows how many U.S.

lawmakers—Democrats and a small but growing number of Republicans—are searching for ways to rein in the president. At stake, they say, is the U.S.-led global order that’s been in place since the end of World War II. “Congress has ceded its authority in far too many areas," said Sen.

Lisa Murkowski (R., Alaska), during the two-day trip to Copenhagen to calm officials over Greenland. “We’re the ones that have to speak up for our role," added Murkowski, who didn’t support Trump’s re-election. “We can’t just complain that there’s executive overreach." So far, these lawmakers concede they are failing.