> No authorization is needed to defend the country. <
I want to agree with that. But every president will tell you that the strike they ordered was meant to defend the country.
As I see it, no authorization should be needed to defend against an ongoing, in-the-moment attack. But otherwise Congress (as goofy as they are) must be consulted.
It’s what the Founders intended.
War Powers Act specifies that when putting troops in harm’s way, even temporarily, Congress must be advised. Trump did that, and the individual Congresspeople he advised squealed to the enemy. ‘Collusion’? No more need to advise them. Done and done.
Defending the country is no different than any other defense. It is an ongoing and active defense.
Syria like chem weapons. If one of their planes got within 5 minutes air time of any of my bases, I’d shoot it down. That’s defense.