Trump Could Withdraw US From NATO Without Congress

President-elect Donald Trump could pull the United States out of NATO without the authority of Congress despite legislation passed to prevent him from doing so, Politico reports.

Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., sponsored a bill that would require congressional approval for the president to withdraw the U.S. from NATO, a measure that was included in the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act. However, legal experts told Politico that Trump could use presidential authority over foreign policy to ignore that requirement.

Curtis Bradley, the University of Chicago Law School's Allen M. Singer distinguished service professor, told Politico that if Trump were to declare the U.S. no longer a part of NATO, it's unclear if Congress has the legal standing to file a lawsuit.

"For the issue to be litigated, there would need to be someone with standing to sue," Bradley said. "The only party I can think of who might have standing would be Congress itself, but it is not clear that the Republicans in Congress (who will at least control the Senate) would support such a suit."

The Brookings Institution's Scott Anderson, senior editor of Lawfare, told the news outlet that the law on the issue is "not airtight," adding, "This is not open and shut, this is about Congress telling you you can't do this, and if you ignore Congress, you're going to have to fight us in the courts over it."

Theodore Bunker ✉

Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.

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