What is the Constitutional Balance of War Powers Between Congress and the President?

We the People

National Constitution Center

News, News Commentary, History

4.6 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 12 March 2026

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

On February 28, President Trump announced “major combat operations in Iran.” The operation, known as Epic Fury, has renewed a long-standing debate about the scope of presidential war powers and who decides when the nation goes to war. Last week, Congress rejected legislation that sought to require President Trump to obtain congressional approval for military actions against Iran. The Constitution divides war powers between Congress, which has the authority to declare war, and the president, who serves as Commander in Chief. In this episode, Harold Hongju Koh of Yale Law School and Michael D. Ramsey of San Diego Law School explore the constitutional foundations of war powers, as well as the War Powers Resolution of 1973, and how they inform the constitutional authority debates about the use of military force today. Julie Silverbrook, Chief Content and Learning Officer at the National Constitution Center, moderates. Resources Article I, Section 8, Declare War Clause, NCC’s Interactive Constitution Article II, Section 2, Commander in Chief Clause, NCC’s Interactive Constitution War Powers Resolution, congress.gov Michael D. Ramsey, “The Constitution’s Check on Warmaking,” Law & Liberty, (January 27, 2026) Michael D. Ramsey, “Textualism and War Powers,” University of Chicago Law Review 69, no. 4 (2002) Harold Hongju Koh, The National Security Constitution: Sharing Power After the Iran-Contra Affair (Second Edition, 2024) Harold Hongju Koh, “Humanitarian Intervention: Time for Better Law,” American Journal of International Law Unbound 111 (2017) National Constitution Center, “Does the War Powers Resolution debate take on a new context in the Iran conflict?,”Constitution Daily Blog, (March 3, 2026) National Constitution Center, “When Congress last used its powers to declare war,” Constitution Daily Blog, (December 8, 2018) Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump (2026) Dellums v. Bush (1990) Prize Cases (1863) Ange v. Bush, (D.D.C. 1990) Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠podcast@constitutioncenter.org⁠⁠⁠⁠ Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr Explore the ⁠⁠⁠⁠America at 250 Civic Toolkit⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up⁠⁠⁠⁠ to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate Subscribe, rate, and review wherever you listen Join us for an upcoming ⁠⁠⁠⁠live program⁠⁠⁠⁠ or watch recordings on ⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠ Support our important work ⁠⁠⁠⁠Donate

Transcript

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0:00.0	From the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, this is We the People.
0:06.9	I'm Julie Silverbrook, Chief Content and Learning Officer.
0:10.6	The National Constitution Center is a nonpartisan nonprofit chartered by Congress to increase awareness and understanding of the Constitution among the American people.
0:20.0	On February 28, President Trump announced major combat operations in Iran.
0:24.6	The operation, known as Epic Fury, has renewed a long-standing debate about the scope of presidential war powers,
0:30.6	and who has the constitutional authority to decide when the nation uses military force.
0:35.6	In this episode, we explored the constitutional foundations of war powers,
0:40.2	as well as the war powers resolution of 1973,
0:43.5	examining how they inform today's debates
0:45.5	over the respective roles of Congress and the president.
0:48.4	To help us explore this history and the current debates,
0:51.0	we are joined by two leading scholars of constitutional and international law.
0:55.5	Harold Coe is the Sterling Professor of International Law and Former Dean at Yale Law School.
1:00.6	He is a leading expert in public and private international law, national security law, and human rights.
1:06.3	He is the author of many books, including the National Security Constitution,
1:10.1	which traces the evolution
1:11.2	of the constitutional struggle and balance of institutional powers in foreign affairs and national
1:16.4	security policy across American history. Harold, welcome to We the People.
1:21.0	Good to be here. And Michael D. Ramsey is the Warren Distinguished Professor of Law at San Diego
1:26.1	Law School. His scholarship focuses on the
1:28.5	constitutional and international law aspects of U.S. foreign relations, particularly in the areas
1:33.6	of war powers, treaties, and presidential authority, as well as on the litigation of transnational
	...

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