ASSESSING PRESIDENTIAL POWER| 317Congress or anyone else. The 2007 debate over funding the war in Iraq provides
a good example. During the debate, many members of Congress wanted to cut off
war funding to force the withdrawal of American forces from Iraq; but supporters
of the Bush administration maintained that the Constitution’s description of the
president as commander in chief meant that even if Congress refused to appropri-
ate funds for the war, the president could (1) order American forces to stay in Iraq
and (2) order the Treasury Department to spend any funds necessary to continue
operations. Ultimately, members of Congress approved a funding resolution.
Even when a president takes a unilateral action, it may not lead to policy
change. Presidents and their staffs still have to monitor subsequent actions
by bureaucrats to make sure they are implementing the president’s decision.
Most presidents have tried to control the interpretation and implementation of
laws by issuing a signing statement when signing a bill into law. These docu-
ments, which explain the president’s interpretation of the new law, are issued
most often when the president disagrees with the interpretation of members
of Congress who supported the legislation but still wishes to approve the bill.
Presidents issue signing statements so that if the courts have to resolve uncer-
tainties about the bill’s intent, judges can take into account not only the views
expressed during congressional debates about the bill, but also the president’s
interpretation of it.^57
CONGRESSIONAL RESPONSES TO UNILATERAL ACTION
In theory, members of Congress can undo a president’s unilateral action by enact-
ing a law to overturn it, but this is harder than it may sound.^58 Some members of
Congress may approve of what the president has done or be indiff erent to it, or
may give a higher priority to other policies. Still, reversals do happen: after Obama
announced plans to close the Guantánamo Bay detention center for terrorist sus-
pects, the House and Senate added an amendment to a spending bill stating that
the prison could not be closed until the administration released plans explaining
where the prisoners would be sent.
Members of Congress can also write laws in a way that limits the president’s
authority over their implementation.^59 The problem with this approach is that
signing statement A docu-
ment issued by the president when
signing a bill into law explaining
his interpretation of the law, which
often differs from the interpreta-
tion of Congress, in an attempt
to infl uence how the law will be
implemented.THE PRESIDENT’S POWER TO ACT
unilaterally is constrained by many
factors, including the ability of
members of Congress to block
most of these actions. For example,
in 2009 President Obama ordered
the closure of the detention center
for terror suspects at Guantánamo
Bay, Cuba, but Congress passed
legislation preventing the closure
until the Obama administration
developed detailed plans for
relocating the prisoners held there.