In an era of expanding presidential war powers, @POTUS Biden has pledged to work w/ Congress to end forever wars.
Today, our War Powers Resolution Reporting Project is updated and searchable thru #Trump's term.
Essential reading for the road ahead. 🧵👇
warpowers.lawandsecurity.org
The WPR Reporting Project is the first public, interactive database to collect & analyze all 48-hour reports by the President to Congress on use of force abroad.
It now spans ~50 yrs of reporting, from the first (Ford '75) through the end of Trump term (1/20/21). #WarPowersRCLS
The WPR Reporting Project provides graphic illustrations of major trends; an interactive map; a searchable database with easy-to-use filters; and a repository of original docs.
One click unlocks 106 war powers reports by eight presidents to Congress over five decades.
In this moment of presidential transition & opportunity, we now have the data to assess:
☑Fmr Pres Trump’s complete practice under the WPR
☑How it compares to previous Admins
☑What it may tell us about the future of war powers & use of force in our constitutional democracy
The WPR Reporting Project's author & lead researcher @bridgewriter takes up those questions in her new analysis of Trump’s war powers legacy & pressing questions for @POTUS Biden.
She finds some of Trump’s 5 unclassified reports are
uncontroversial, BUT...
.@bridgewriter argues that the Trump Admin
🔹continued stretching already elastic constraints on unilateral use of force
🔹undermined WPR’s transparency aims with its classified 48-hr report on the controversial strike against Iranian cmdr #Soleimani
justsecurity.org/74903/trumps-w…
The Biden Admin is left with difficult questions, says @bridgewriter.
It must choose whether to relinquish claimed authority to restore the balance of power between the branches.
And it must ward against unintended consequences of, e.g., repealing the 2001/2002 AUMFs.
In addition to the incomparable @bridgewriter, we thank our Reiss Center Scholars @marilisdugas @nicktonckens & @Julia1Brooks for their thoughtful & thorough research, and our partners @objectivelyis for their unparalleled design vision & execution.
The WPR Reporting Project is a living, open-source resource for use by scholars, journalists, lawmakers & the public. #WarPowersRCLS
We will continue to update the Project regularly.
We welcome your feedback, as always, and invite you to explore: warpowers.lawandsecurity.org
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