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Constitutionality of Pending Bills Restricting the Withdrawal of Public Land for National Defense

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Pursuant to his constitutional powers as Commander in Chief, the President, particularly in time of war or national emergency, may have authority without the authorization of Congress to reserve and use public lands for the training and deployment of the armed forces of the United States for national defense purposes.

If the above is true, any attempted restriction of this authority by Congress would be an unconstitutional invasion of the President’s authority as Commander in Chief.

Updated August 1, 2014