presidents who used military force without first going to Congress for a declaration of war or a new AUMF.
Name, date(s), action. No spin.
Harry S. Truman
1950 — Entered the Korean War under UN authority, no congressional authorization.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
1958 — Deployed U.S. troops to Lebanon (Operation Blue Bat), no Congress vote.
John F. Kennedy
1961 — Bay of Pigs invasion (Cuba), covert military action, no Congress.
1962 — Cuban Missile Crisis naval blockade (“quarantine”), no Congress.
Lyndon B. Johnson
1964–1965 — Major Vietnam War escalation under Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (not a declaration of war).
Richard Nixon
1969–1973 — Cambodia and Laos bombings, expanded Vietnam War, no new authorization.
Gerald Ford
1975 — Mayaguez incident (Cambodia), military rescue operation, no Congress.
Ronald Reagan
1983 — Invasion of Grenada, no prior congressional approval.
1986 — Airstrikes on Libya, no Congress authorization.
George H. W. Bush
1989 — Invasion of Panama, no declaration of war (authorization came after).
Bill Clinton
1995 — Bosnia air campaign, NATO action, no Congress vote.
1998 — Operation Desert Fox (Iraq airstrikes), no Congress.
1999 — Kosovo bombing campaign, no Congress authorization.
George W. Bush
2001–ongoing — Global military actions under 2001 AUMF far beyond original scope (no new authorizations for expansions).
Barack Obama
2011 — Libya air war, no congressional authorization.
2014–2016 — ISIS strikes in Syria, relied on 2001 AUMF.
Donald Trump
2017 — Syria missile strikes, no Congress authorization.
2020 — Iranian General Soleimani strike, no Congress approval.
Joe Biden
2021–2024 — Airstrikes in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, relied on Article II / prior AUMFs.
Bottom line (no opinion, just history)
• Congress has not declared war since 1941
What are your thoughts
• Presidents have bypassed Congress for military action for ~75 years
