On February 29, AFPC hosted a very lively two-panel debate series on Capitol Hill. Titled “The Executive Branch vs. Congressional Prerogatives in National Security Decisions,” the debate witnessed a substantive discussion among senior experts and former high-ranking government officials.
The first panel was comprised of Dr. Louis Fisher, formerly the Congressional Research Service’s Senior Specialist on Separation of Powers (1970 and 2006), and Robert Turner, a former U.S. Senate staffer and executive branch official who co-founded the Center for National Security Law at the University of Virginia School of Law.
Dr. Michelle Van Cleave moderated the second panel discussion between former Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ), and former Homeland Security Sec. (and former judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals Third Circuit) The Hon. Michael Chertoff.
In addition to the U.S. Constitution, the speakers referenced historic case studies (e.g., the 18th Century U.S. campaign against the Barbary States) and more contemporary separation-of- powers debates (e.g., Iran Nuclear Deal and the PATRIOT Act) to illustrate the tensions that exist between Congress and the executive branch.
You can watch a video of the debate by clicking the links below, or read the transcript by downloading the file at the end of the page.
