It seems like, during Reagan's time in office, American politics was deeply divided between the two parties. As a result of this, the executive branch was Republican while Congress was controlled by a Democrat majority. This partisan divide created a lot of tension and forced the systems of checks and balances to be put to use. This was especially prevalent during the Iran-contra scandal. Congress was compelled to enact two versions of the Boland Amendment to limit the President's autonomy in making military and strategic decisions when dealing with Nicaragua. This move is important because, in a democratic country like America, the president shouldn't be able to make unilateral decisions. However, Congress' acts turned out to be ineffective because they were bypassed by Reagan through the use of the NSC. This was confusing to me because isn't the NSC a part of the executive branch so why didn't it have to oblige to the Boland Amendments?
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