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When the United States goes to war, the nation's attention focuses on the president. As commander in chief, a president reaches the zenith of power, while Congress is supposedly shunted to the sidelines once troops have been deployed abroad. Because of Congress's repeated failure to exercise its legislative powers to rein in presidents, many have proclaimed its irrelevance in military matters. After the Rubicon challenges this conventional wisdom by illuminating the diverse ways in which legislators influence the conduct of military affairs. Douglas L. Kriner reveals that even in politically sensitive wartime environments, individual members of Congress frequently propose legislation, hold investigative hearings, and engage in national policy debates in the public sphere. These actions influence the president's strategic decisions as he weighs the political costs of pursuing his preferred military course. Marshalling a wealth of quantitative and historical evidence, Kriner expertly demonstrates the full extent to which Congress materially shapes the initiation, scope, and duration of major military actions and sheds new light on the timely issue of interbranch relations.

Executive-legislative relations --- Politics and war --- Executive power --- United States. --- Powers and duties --- United States --- Military policy --- History, Military --- United States. Congress --- History [Military ] --- Presidents --- War --- War and politics --- Congressional-executive relations --- Congressional-presidential relations --- Executive-congressional relations --- Legislative-executive relationships --- Presidential-congressional relations --- Separation of powers --- Powers --- Political aspects --- Powers and duties. --- Military policy. --- History, Military. --- Executive-legislative relations - United States --- Politics and war - United States --- Executive power - United States --- United States - Military policy --- United States - History, Military --- united states politics, war, warfare, social sciences, history, us presidents, commander in chief, congress, troops, american military, legislative powers, conventional wisdom, wartime environments, international relations, diplomacy, national policy debates, historical evidence, investigative hearings, strategic decisions, public sphere, executive power, marines, legislators.

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As the holders of the only office elected by the entire nation, presidents have long claimed to be sole stewards of the interests of all Americans. Scholars have largely agreed, positing the president as an important counterbalance to the parochial impulses of members of Congress. This supposed fact is often invoked in arguments for concentrating greater power in the executive branch. Douglas L. Kriner and Andrew Reeves challenge this notion and, through an examination of a diverse range of policies from disaster declarations, to base closings, to the allocation of federal spending, show that presidents, like members of Congress, are particularistic. Presidents routinely pursue policies that allocate federal resources in a way that disproportionately benefits their more narrow partisan and electoral constituencies. Though presidents publicly don the mantle of a national representative, in reality they are particularistic politicians who prioritize the needs of certain constituents over others.

Executive power --- Presidents --- Grants-in-aid --- Government spending policy --- Powers

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Political sociology --- Politics

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