President George W. Bush’s march to war in Iraq was a formative moment for me as a high school sophomore in Indiana. Like millions of Americans, I watched in disbelief as Congress, cowed into compliance by the horrors of September 11 and misled by the White House, ultimately granted Bush sweeping military authority under the 2002 Iraq War Resolution.

In one of his most famous speeches, Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) excoriated his colleagues for bowing to the Bush administration’s fearmongering.

“This chamber is, for the most part, silent — ominously, dreadfully silent,” Byrd said. “There is no debate, no discussion, no attempt to lay out for the nation the pros and cons of this particular war. We stand passively mute in the United States Senate, paralyzed by our own uncertainty, seemingly stunned by the sheer turmoil of events. ... This coming battle, if it materializes, represents a turning point in U.S. foreign policy.”

Two decades later, as President Trump escalates his personal conflict with Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro to the brink of war, the White House has made clear that it won’t even bother asking for congressional approval.

For years, the Senate eroded its own authority through silence and submission. Facing another........

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