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Because Donald Trump is unambiguously the commander-in-chief until either Biden takes office on Jan 20 at noon or he is removed from office. Until that time, Tr
by acjohnson55 6y ago
Because Donald Trump is unambiguously the commander-in-chief until either Biden takes office on Jan 20 at noon or he is removed from office. Until that time, Trump can issue military orders that do not abet the peaceful transition of power.
This move matters, because it is important that members of the armed forces be able to distinguish between lawful orders, which they must obey, even if they do not like them, and unlawful orders, which they must not obey.
- mc32 6y agoIt's not that simple. A president can't just say "invade Cuba!" and it gets done in Today's world (maybe it was the case in the 1800s). Advisors and the Military (and Congress) have to concur that it's within reason do do such a thing.
- eyelidlessness 6y agoThis is the letter of the law and regulations as they stand, but hopelessly naive as to how actual military command is handled. The military deployed a previously unused weapon on the president’s command without any consultation. This responsibility has been largely delegated from congress to the executive’s discretion (with review) for nearly two decades. Reminding active service members that their oath is to the constitution, not the executive, at this moment is prudent.
- acjohnson55 6y agoInvading Cuba without Congressional approval would be a clear violation of the Constitution. But I think it's very dangerous to assume that institutions have the internal integrity to shrug off abuse of power because of their rules and norms.