Senate bans president from unilaterally leaving NATO

The President of the United States will not be able to withdraw from NATO unilaterally. The Senate decided this in a bipartisan vote that concluded that the federal government will be prohibited from withdrawing from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization without congressional approval. The initiative was proposed during the last summit in Lithuania and had up to 10 sponsors from both sides of the aisle.

Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) led the bill, which passed 65-28. Both Senators are colleagues on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and longtime supporters of the military alliance.

"America is strong on our own, and even stronger with our allies. Congress stands with this historic alliance," the Democrat celebrated, while the Republican expressed himself days before when the text entered the Upper House. "NATO is an essential military alliance that protects shared national interests and strengthens America's international presence. Any decision to leave the alliance must be rigorously debated and considered by the U.S. Congress with input from the American people," he wrote.

As reported on the Democratic senator and former vice presidential nominee's website, "The bill requires the U.S. President to seek the advice and consent of the Senate before suspending, terminating, or withdrawing U.S. membership in NATO."

If the president attempts to abandon the alliance without Senate approval or an act of Congress, the legislation would cut off funding to do so and allow congressional legal counsel to challenge any attempt by the administration in court.

"Putin's brutal war in Ukraine and Finland's accession and Sweden's pending NATO membership underscore the same thing: NATO is stronger than ever. I am proud to introduce this bipartisan bill to reaffirm America's commitment to NATO and ensure that no U.S. president can unilaterally decide to leave the alliance without congressional approval," Kaine said when the bill was announced days ago.

The bill is co-sponsored by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Angus King (I- M.E.), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Dick Durbin (D-IL).

What is NATO?

According to its website, "The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was founded in 1949 and is a group of 31 countries from Europe and North America that exists to protect the people and territory of its members."

Perhaps its most important point is the famous Article 5, which establishes the principle of collective defense. In other words, if any NATO ally is attacked, all are attacked. It currently has 31 members, soon to be joined by Sweden:

ALBANIA (2009)

BELGIUM (1949)

BULGARIA (2004)

CANADA (1949)

CROATIA (2009)

CHEQUIA (1999)

DENMARK (1949)

ESTONIA (2004)

FINLAND (2023)

FRANCE (1949)

GERMANY (1955)

GREECE (1952)

HUNGARY (1999)

ICELAND (1949)

ITALY (1949)

LATVIA (2004)

LITHUANIA (2004)

LUXEMBOURG (1949)

MONTENEGRO (2017)

NETHERLANDS (1949)

NORTHERN MACEDONIA (2020)

NORWAY (1949)

POLAND (1999)

PORTUGAL (1949)

SLOVAKIA (2004)

SLOVENIA (2004)

SPAIN (1982)

UNITED KINGDOM (1949)

UNITED STATES (1949)

ROMANIA (2004)

TURKEY (1952)