Trump’s trick to bypass Congress and withdraw America from NATO

According to Isna, the American publication wrote that after the victory of “Donald Trump” in the American elections, which does not have a good middle ground with NATO, the supporters of this military alliance are pleased with a one-year law in the United States, according to which, the President of the United States cannot, without the permission of the Congress, The coalition will leave, but Trump may find a way around it.

In a report published in the Politico magazine, it is stated: Senators Kim Kaine and Marco Rubio passed a law in 2023 that would require the approval of two-thirds of the Senate or a resolution by the US President to withdraw from NATO. It was conditioned by the Congress. Legislators passed this plan through the National Defense Authorization Act of 2024, which was also approved by US President Joe Biden.

Legal prohibition of Congress to withdraw the US from NATO without prior notice

Legal experts have warned that Trump may find a way to circumvent the congressional plan for NATO with regard to presidential powers in the field of foreign policy, and this is a trick that has been used before to circumvent congressional restrictions on withdrawing from agreements and treaties.

This article continues: Scott Anderson, a researcher at the Brookings Institution and Lafaire’s senior editor, said that the law is “not perfect.” What this legislation does is it puts the president in direct conflict with Congress if he tries to withdraw from the treaties.

Anderson added: This is not an easy task. The thing is, Congress tells you you can’t do it, and if you ignore Congress, you have to fight us in court.

But Curtis Bradley, a professor at the University of Chicago Law School, says that if Trump does indeed announce that he is withdrawing from the coalition, it is not clear that Congress will be in a position to sue him for ignoring the law.

The position of the High Prosecutor’s Office has usually been that the conflict between different national forces is a political issue that is better to be resolved through a political process instead of judicial intervention.

Can Congress sue the US President if he ignores the legal requirements to withdraw from NATO?

Bradley explained in an email: “For this matter to be prosecuted, someone has to be in a position to complain.” The only body I can think of that would be sued is Congress, but it’s not clear that Republicans in Congress (who would at least control the Senate) would support such a lawsuit.

Anderson said lawmakers should strengthen the bill to include explicit language that would allow the president to prosecute the case, giving Congress an opportunity to challenge the case in court.

Another part of this article states: Even if the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office pursues such a case, it is not clear who will win. Because there are many uncertainties in legal issues. Congress has never issued a serious legal challenge to a US president withdrawing from a treaty.

But this does not mean that the US withdrawal from NATO, if Trump seeks it, will be easily achieved. According to the NATO treaty, member states must inform other member states of their decision before canceling their membership. The membership of this country does not officially end after a one-year waiting period.

However, Trump may weaken NATO without formally withdrawing from it, Politico reported. Democratic lawmakers have warned that he could undermine US support by barring ambassadors from the organization or banning US troops from participating in military exercises. While several lawmakers in February called for new legislative measures against these potential dangers, no serious action has yet been taken.

Chris Van Hollen, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement: “After Trump’s threats in the first round of his presidency, the Congress, which was aware of the vital importance of NATO, tried in a bipartisan action to prevent any future American president from leaving.” be unilateral While Trump may be up to his old tricks, we will continue to work to strengthen NATO and stand ready for any attempt to weaken the alliance.

In another part of this report, it is stated: “Caroline Levitt”, a spokesperson for Trump’s transition team, said in a statement in response to a request for clarification on this matter that “the American people have re-elected the President of the United States because they need him to lead our country and restore peace from They were trusted through power all over the world.

Ignoring the law and circumventing it, Trump’s repeated trick

This is not the first time Trump’s team has ignored legal requirements to withdraw from treaties. In 2019, amid debate over the Open Skies Treaty, Congress included provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2020 requiring the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of State to notify Congress at least 120 days before withdrawing from the treaty. He made a pact. This treaty, consisting of 34 countries, allowed mutual surveillance flights between the members in order to monitor the military forces and their weapons.

In May 2020, the Trump administration announced its intention to withdraw from the treaty by claiming that Russia violated it and ignored all the legal requirements of prior notification to Congress.

In the continuation of this report, referring to the issue of America’s withdrawal from NATO, it is stated: because this alliance is governed based on the trust of the allies, former NATO officials have said that the announcement of withdrawal is equal to withdrawal. Camille Grande, a former assistant secretary general of NATO and a member of the European Council on Foreign Relations, says, “In fact, the day you send the letter (to announce the withdrawal), it will take effect immediately. Because what you’re saying is that I’m no longer committed.”

But apart from the legal aspect, if the American government takes this decision, it should see what it will do with more than 100,000 American soldiers stationed in Europe, whose number has increased by a fifth since the Russian attack on Ukraine. The US Department of Defense should also withdraw from the NATO headquarters.

During the first term of his presidency, Trump repeatedly criticized NATO allies for their insufficient performance in the field of defense spending and openly talked about the reduction of American support to this Western military alliance and pointed to withdrawing from it. At one of his campaign rallies, he noted that he had previously told America’s allies, “If we don’t pay, are you going to protect us? Certainly not.”

Trump has not said publicly that he will withdraw from NATO, but reports suggest that he has been talking about it privately. At a campaign rally, he said he would encourage Russia to do “whatever it wants” with NATO allies that don’t pay defense bills.

While critics argue that the tough rhetoric undermines the alliance, some Republicans see it as effective pressure that has led to increased NATO funding from other members.

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