Senators offer bill to block any US president from leaving NATO

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Reuters
12 Jul 2023 20:49

The bipartisan resolution is a new attempt by Congress to block the president from leaving the alliance without Senate consent.

US President Joe Biden and Jens Stoltenberg during the Vilnius Summit in Lithuania (AP)

On Wednesday, Democratic and Republican senators intensified their efforts to prevent any US president from abandoning NATO, as leaders of the organization gathered in Vilnius, Lithuania, for a historic summit.

According to Reuters, the bipartisan resolution, seen by Reuters, is a new attempt by Congress to block the president from leaving the alliance without Senate consent.

According to the statement by Senate, "The President shall not suspend, terminate, denounce, or withdraw the United States from the North Atlantic Treaty, done at Washington, DC, April 4, 1949, except by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, provided that two-thirds of the Senators present concur or pursuant to an Act of Congress."

Democratic Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees, and Republican Senator Marco Rubio, vice chairman of the Intelligence Committee and a senior member of the Foreign Relations Committee, are among the lead sponsors.

“Putin’s brutal war in Ukraine and Finland’s accession and Sweden’s pending accession into NATO all underscore the same thing: NATO is stronger than ever,” according to Kaine.

Rubio expressed that “NATO serves as an essential military alliance that protects shared national interests and enhances America’s international presence," adding that "Any decision to leave the alliance should be rigorously debated and considered by the U.S. Congress with the input of the American people."

The measure has been submitted several times in recent years, notably under the presidency of former Republican President Donald Trump, who has expressed a desire for the US to withdraw from the military alliance.

It has yet to be approved by the entire Senate, but an aide to Kaine highlighted that it was supported by the foreign relations committee last year with strong bipartisan support, and that, given the crisis in Ukraine and NATO expansion, supporters predict better support than ever.

The current president, Democrat Joe Biden, has been a staunch supporter of NATO, advocating for its enlargement and collaborating with other members, particularly in reaction to the war in Ukraine. In a speech at the Vilnius summit on Wednesday, he is likely to laud its unity over Ukraine.

The summit featured the first meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council, a group formed to improve cooperation between Kiev and the 31-member transatlantic military alliance.