The Burden That Should Not Be Theirs: How Congress Turned the Military into the Last Check on Illegal War

Congress has abdicated its constitutional war-making authority, inadvertently placing the U.S. military in the position of being the final check against an illegal war ordered by the executive branch. This reliance on military disobedience is a dangerous path, as it erodes civilian control, encourages presidential overreach, and politicizes the armed forces, which are culturally and legally structured for obedience. Through decades of acquiescence and broad authorizations like the 2001 AUMF, legislators have allowed war-making power to shift to the White House, as seen in recent unauthorized actions against Iran and Venezuela. Instead of expecting military officers to refuse unconstitutional orders, Congress must reclaim its own powers to declare and fund wars to prevent the executive from unilaterally engaging in conflicts.