If you are like most people, you probably think animal testing has already been outlawed. With so many companies marketing their products as “cruelty-free,” it’s easy to assume the practice is a relic of the past. But the reality is that animal testing remains incredibly common.
The following editorial was originally published in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Sunday, June 7th, 2026 as part of the “Raise Your Hand” column in the Insight section.
By: Anna Gregorio, St. Andrew's School, c/o 2026
The term "Imperial Presidency" was coined after historian Arthur Schlesinger’s book The Imperial Presidency, which criticized the Nixon administration for abusing the executive office and exceeding the constitutional limitations on the president’s role. The term is now broadly used to describe presidential administrations that overstep their constitutional authority and violate the limits on presidential power, contradicting the founding principles of American democracy, where our country is governed “by the people, for the people.”
We are witnessing this dynamic firsthand today.
While the U.S. has not formally declared war since 1942, it has repeatedly committed its armed forces to sustained overseas conflicts in Vietnam, Iraq, Kenya, Libya, Mali, Pakistan and beyond. In January 2026, the Trump administration launched “Operation Absolute Resolve,” which resulted in the capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife.
Administration officials defended the action as a targeted intervention and law-enforcement operation, rather than an act of war requiring congressional approval. Even if one accepts the administration’s characterization of its actions in Venezuela, the same rationale does not justify involvement in Iran. The conflict there has now stretched for over three months, and President Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and other senior officials have, themselves, repeatedly and explicitly described the unfolding situation as a “war.”
President Trump’s escalation in both Venezuela and Iran has brought the constitutional question of war-making authority into sharper focus than at any time in recent history. Congress must now reassert the authority it has ceded to the president.
The War Powers Resolution, enacted after the Vietnam War, requires the president to alert Congress within 48 hours of engaging armed forces in hostilities and to terminate military involvement after sixty days unless Congress authorizes the action.
The mechanism emerged in direct response to Vietnam-era concerns about executive overreach. President Nixon undermined congressional authority to declare war by secretly initiating bombings in Cambodia, prolonging the Vietnam War while circumventing congressional approval. In 1973, Congress passed the War Powers Resolution over President Nixon’s veto, aiming to avert future instances of presidential overreach in foreign conflicts. While Congress successfully overrode his veto, the episode displayed Nixon’s vision for an executive branch far less limited by constitutional checks and balances — a foreboding interpretation of presidential power that is resurfacing today.
The Founding Fathers intentionally assigned this responsibility to Congress to prevent the kind of executive tyranny they experienced under British rule. They empowered the president as Commander in Chief so that he or she may respond swiftly to emergency military threats, unimpeded by the slow deliberations of Congress.
However, they did not intend for presidents to use their power to involve the country in sustained conflict — such as deploying troops, executing military raids, leading attacks, and capturing foreign leaders — without congressional consent. They understood that committing the nation to war must reflect the will of the people.
Congress’s war-making authority is not to be encroached on by any president or their administration. Article I of the Constitution equips Congress with the right to demand information from other branches of government, to authorize military action, and to hold the president accountable.
Respecting this constitutional structure is especially critical in matters of war and foreign policy. Our nation cannot call itself a democracy when Congress, the “people’s branch,” is abdicating its war-making authority to the president while lives are at stake and economies are faltering. Now more than ever, Congress must invoke the War Powers Resolution and reclaim its unique authority under Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution to declare war.
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