Congress Has Castrated Itself, the Constitutional Republic Is Apparently Finished

Never mind reserving its sole right to declare war, Congress is now too scared to pass even a wishy-washy Authorization for Use of Military Force.

In 27 BC, four years after Octavian defeated Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium, he made a gesture to the Roman Senate of surrendering his emergency, wartime power. All the Senators perceived his gesture to be pure show, and they believed he had every intention of retaining his direct command of the army. Out of fear, the Senators gave him the title Augustus (August or Majestic) and officially granted him direct, unlimited command of the army and the empire’s most important provinces. Octavian, in effect, castrated the Senate.

The United States Constitution does NOT grant the Executive the power to commit the nation to war. Only Congress is authorized (Article I, Section 8, Clause 11) to commit the nation, its young soldiers, and its resources to the business of killing people and possibly being killed.

The last time Congress adhered to its duty was in 1942. Since then, instead of declaring war, Congress has preferred to pass Authorizations for Use of Military Force—a wishy-washy legal concept that enables Congressmen to avoid full commitment and therefore backlash if a conflict becomes unpopular or costly.

This alone has been a disturbing departure from what the Founding Fathers intended to safeguard the Republic and the liberty of its citizens. They knew history, from which they regarded the ability to wage war as the ultimate power that any government may possess—a power that may inflict the greatest abuses, loss of liberty, and the greatest peril to the nation’s existence.

On March 4, 2026, Congress officially castrated itself by refusing to pass an Authorization of the Use of Force, which would necessarily contain certain definitions and limits of the Executive’s right to use military force. Just like the Roman Senate did in 27 BC, they pretended as though their action was an expression of adhering to the Constitution.

Because their refusal to pass an Authorization was NOT accompanied by the demand that the President cease military operations pending their approval, they de facto granted the President the right to wage war in Iran as he pleases, with no requirements or limits imposed by Congress. Their action should be regarded as turning a blind eye to the Executive’s extremely risky and costly use of military force. What we are seeing now is literally James Madison’s worst nightmare.

In the case of the Roman Senate in 27 BC, the Senators were afraid of Octavian and his loyal army. In the case of the United States Congress today, who are the Congressmen afraid of? To me, this is an extremely eery question to ponder.

In this supreme matter of life and death, Congress has forfeited its power, and now has the status of a court eunuch. Thus, it seems to me that our Constitutional Republic is finished. Life will go on and Congress may grow a pair and reassert itself, but what is now happening has come unmoored from Constitutional law, leaving us at the mercy of whatever President Trump (and whoever is influencing or controlling him) decide.

I wonder how many Congressmen are aware that the U.S. Constitution went into effect on March 4, 1789—exactly 237 years ago.