Comedian and television host Bill Maher confronted Democratic California Sen. Adam Schiff on Friday over what he suggested was Democratic hypocrisy regarding presidential war powers. Schiff appeared on HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher” alongside CNN has-been Don Lemon, where they discussed several issues, including the United States’ military conflict with Iran.
During the discussion, Maher read a statement defending a president’s authority to order military action without congressional approval. “The president has the constitutional authority to direct the use of military force because he could reasonably determine that such use of force was in the national interest,” Maher said.
Maher then asked Schiff whether the statement was too vague. “That’s too vague for you?” Maher asked.
“Totally vague,” Schiff responded. Maher then revealed that the quote came from the administration of then-President Barack Obama defending U.S. military operations in Libya in 2011.
Maher’s reveal prompted Schiff to shift the conversation toward another foreign policy debate that occurred during the Obama presidency.
“Well, Obama made the argument initially that he could go into Syria without authorization,” Schiff said, adding that he and others challenged that claim at the time. “I and many others pushed back on that argument,” Schiff said.
He noted that Obama ultimately chose not to pursue military action against Syrian President Bashar al Assad after determining that Congress might not approve it.
“Ultimately, he did not go forward with going after Assad, even though Assad was gassing his own people, because he thought he might lose the vote in Congress,” Schiff said. “But I respect the fact that was important to him, and the fact that he did not have the support of Congress meant that we weren’t going to go forward.”
The exchange centered on the long-standing debate over the president’s authority to deploy military force without a formal declaration of war from Congress.
Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 of the Constitution grants Congress the power to declare war. However, presidents from both parties have ordered military operations without such declarations since the earliest days of the republic.
In 2011, the Obama administration authorized U.S. participation in NATO-led military operations in Libya during the country’s civil war.
The administration argued that the action was justified under the president’s constitutional authority and international commitments.
Critics at the time argued the intervention violated the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution.
The libertarian Cato Institute said the Obama administration’s legal justification was insufficient because Libya did not pose a direct threat to the United States. Congress debated the issue during the conflict.
In June 2011, lawmakers voted on a War Powers Resolution that would have removed U.S. forces from Libya. The measure ultimately failed.
At the time, Schiff served as a member of the House of Representatives. He voted against the resolution that would have ended U.S. military involvement in Libya.
The debate over presidential war powers has resurfaced as the United States continues military operations in Iran.
Critics of President Donald Trump have argued that Congress should authorize such actions before they occur.
Supporters of the administration argue that presidents from both parties have used similar authority to order military strikes when they believe the actions are in the national interest.