WERE THE founding fathers to return, suggested Michael Beschloss, a historian, in "Presidents of War", they would be "thunderstruck" to discover how the power to kick off major wars could now rest on the whim of a president. Presidents have "regularly told Congress to go to hell" on such matters, as Harry Truman admiringly noted of James Polk, the 11th president. Donald Trump is keeping up that tradition. On April 16th he wielded his veto for only the second time in his presidency to strike down a bill that might have forced him to end America's support for the Saudi-led war against the Houthi militia in Yemen. The fighting has caused what the un calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
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