In the midst of a nationwide baby formula shortage, the president has announced seemingly dramatic solutions. Joe Biden on Wednesday invoked the Defense Production Act, a Korean War-era emergency measure that gives the president the authority to force private companies to produce goods and services to support defense efforts.
That's an unusual use of federal wartime powers given the United States is not currently at war—well, beyond our usual support for simmering not-quite wars in the Middle East and elsewhere. The formula shortages are understandably frightening for young mothers, but they in fact have nothing to do with the nation's defense.
