Trump yet again was not shy to express his frustration with the NATO allies for their lack of involvement in the war. Pinpointing that the European countries have failed to contribute to this war and have left the US to fend for itself. He emphasized their lack of naval participation to secure the Strait of Hormuz, despite it being a direct threat to global energy supplies and to the European economy.
Trump is not a stranger to making decisions without Congress’s approval, but experts say this time, things might not be as straightforward, and it might not be as easy for him to end a decades-long alliance.
The Constitution of the United States gives the President the authority to make treaties in compliance with the Senate, but only if the matter in question receives a two-thirds majority vote. Also keeping in mind NATO’s part of the deal, which states that any country is able to leave the pact, but with a request that needs to be submitted one year in advance.
In 2023, Congress passed bipartisan legislation, cosponsored by current Trump officials Marco Rubio and Tim Kaine, blocking any president from withdrawing from NATO without two-thirds Senate approval and prohibiting federal spending for the attempt to withdraw from the pact. The law, embedded in the 2024 defense bill, directly constrains Trump’s long-standing threats to abandon the alliance, despite a 2020 Justice Department opinion claiming presidential authority to exit treaties independently.
