The 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, finalized by House and Senate negotiators Sunday, attempts to restrain the Pentagon and the president’s power in withdrawing American troops from regions abroad.
The U.S. would not be able to reduce its troop force in Europe below 76,000 without arguing to Congress that the reduction would not harm national security or NATO. The same goes for South Korea. Any reduction in troops below 28,500 would require Congressional approval and guarantees that allies were consulted. (Subscribe to MR. RIGHT, a free weekly newsletter about modern masculinity)
So, Congress is totally fine with the president exerting imperial powers, as long as he is making war and blowing things up for the military-industrial complex.
Aerial view of a static display showing from L to R: Romanian Air Forces’ Puma helicopter, US Army’s Chinook, US Army’s Apache, US Army’s medevac and a Typhoon jet fighter belonging to German Air Forces at the aerial base 57 in Mihail Kogalniceanu city, in Romania, on November 25, 2025. The United States reassured NATO member Romania on November 25 of its commitment to the country’s defence as Bucharest reported a fresh drone crash following Russian attacks on Ukraine. “The entire alliance and the US is committed to our presence here and always will be,” the US Army leader in Europe, Christopher Donahue, told reporters during a visit to the Mihail Kogalniceanu airbase. (Photo by Daniel MIHAILESCU / AFP via Getty Images)
But the moment a president tries to unwind and withdraw troops from regions like Europe or South Korea, Congress finally pipes up and wants to restrain his power.
This is just more evidence that Congress is a dead body. They are too ineffectual and incompetent to govern as the Founders intended.
Republican lawmakers, save for a brave few like Sen. Rand Paul, are also cowards and too afraid to stand up to Trump’s war against the alleged narco traffickers. They will gladly go along to get along, either because they don’t want to draw the president’s wrath, or they actually don’t care about the Constitution or making Congress a serious check and balance on executive power again. (RELATED: Trump Facing Resistance On Redistricting From His Own Party)
In an ideal world where the Constitution still mattered, the Pentagon would have to come to Congress to authorize the strikes. If anything, the Pentagon and the president would have very limited power to start a war, and way more unilateral power to be able to withdraw troops.
In 2025, that is just a chimera, sadly.
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