Tipsheet

House Members Sue Obama Over War in Libya

Ten members of the US House of Representatives (a strange mix of Republicans and Democrats) are suing President Obama for going to war with Libya without congressional approval. In the lawsuit, they are arguing that President Obama's actions violate the War Powers Act:

Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – Ten members of the House of Representatives led by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) sued President Barack Obama before the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Wednesday for not getting congressional approval on the use of military force in Libya.

The lawsuit by Kucinich and Reps. Walter Jones (R-NC), Howard Coble (R-NC), John Duncan (R-TN), Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD), John Conyers (D-MI) Ron Paul (R-TX), Michael Capuano (D-MA), Tim Johnson (R-IL) and Dan Burton (R-IN) said Obama violated the 1973 War Powers Resolution, which mandates that any U.S. military mission be first approved by Congress.

The resolution provides a 60-day period to gain authorization from Congress and another 30 days to withdraw from a launched military mission. The Obama administration has until Sunday to withdraw U.S. forces engagement in the Libya civil war.

In order to not be in violation of the War Powers Act, President Obama would have to either get Congress to approve of the war or else withdraw all troops by Sunday. Who wants to bet that neither of those will happen...