White House In Technical Violation Of War Powers Act

Friday marked Day number 60 of U.S. military involvement in Libya, a nation still at war despite two months of intense international pressure to solve its disputes.

That means that as of this morning, the U.S. was in violation of the War Powers Resolution, a 1973 law that requires Presidents to gain congressional authorization for military operations within 60 days. The law stipulates that failure to do so must result in the withdrawal of forces within the next 30 days.

The White House has given no indication that America’s role in protecting the people of Libya against their strongman ruler Moammar Gaddafi is close to being over. Though the U.S. ceded control of the mission to NATO back in March, American forces are still helping to prevent Gaddafi’s military from launching attacks against rebel groups.

When pressed on the matter today, White House press secretary Jay Carney said that “the President’s actions have been and are consistent with the War Powers Act…We have consulted with Congress, we continue to consult with Congress.”

Carney added that the White House would “welcome” an official gesture of approval from Congress.

This morning, The Hill newspaper noted that lawmakers in Washington have been relatively indifferent to a potential violation of the law, though a group of Republicans have written to Obama, asking him if he “intends to comply” with its rules.

Fox News also reported that Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) will introduce a measure when the House resumes business Monday that would require lawmakers to approve continued U.S. involvement in Libya.