War powers and national security

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. Continue today’s conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly. Please subscribe to We the People and our companion podcast, Live at America’s Town Hall, on iTunes, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app. We the People is a member of Slate’s Panoply network. Check out the full roster of podcasts at Panoply.fm. And finally, despite our congressional charter, the National Constitution Center is a private nonprofit; we receive little government support, and we rely on the generosity of people around the country who are inspired by our nonpartisan mission of constitutional debate and education. Please consider becoming a member to support our work, including this podcast. Visit constitutioncenter.org to learn more.