Article I of the Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war, raise armies, and regulate forces. Yet Article II names the President the Commander-in-Chief and vests him with the executive power. Who should be in charge of the nation’s security? What does the Constitution say about the relationship between Congress and the President in wartime?
With rising tensions with North Korea, Afghanistan, and the global war on terror, these questions are as important as ever.
Joining National Constitution Center president and CEO Jeffrey Rosen to discuss these important questions are two leading scholars of national security law.
Sai Prakash is the James Monroe Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Virginia. He is the author of Imperial from the Beginning: The Constitution of the Original Executive. He has written extensively on the domestic war powers of Congress, the powers of the presidency, and the Constitution.
Deborah Pearlstein is an associate professor at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. Her work on national security and the separation of powers has appeared widely in law journals and the popular press. Today, she serves on the editorial board of the peer-reviewed Journal of National Security Law and Policy.
CREDITS
Today’s show was engineered by Kevin Kilbourne and produced by Ugonna Eze and Lana Ulrich. Research was provided by Lana and Tom Donnelly.
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