Congress approves a bill that prohibits the president from unilaterally leaving NATO

The president of the United States will be prohibited from unilaterally leaving the North Atlantic Treaty Organization ( NATO ). This was decided by Congress after it passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which included this provision. Therefore, once Joe Biden signs the bill into law, neither he nor his successors will be able to leave the alliance without the prior approval of the Senate or new legislation.

The bipartisan measure was drafted by Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Tim Kaine (D-VA), who celebrated its passage. It had previously passed through the Senate, where it passed with 65 votes in favor and 28 against.

The Democratic senator and former vice presidential nominee posted on his website, "The bill requires the US president to seek the advice and consent of the Senate before suspending, terminating or withdrawing US membership in NATO."

For practical purposes, should the president attempt to leave the alliance without approval from the Senate or a congressional bill, the legislation would cut off funding to do so and allow congressional legal advisers to challenge any administration efforts in court.

"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. I’m proud to introduce this bipartisan bill to reaffirm the United States’ commitment to NATO and ensure any U.S. President can’t unilaterally decide to leave the alliance without congressional approval," Kaine said days after presenting the bill.

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

What is NATO?

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

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

Albania (2009)

Belgium (1949)

Bulgaria (2004)

Canada (1949)

Croatia (2009)

Czechia (1999)

Denmark (1949)

United States (1949)

Slovakia (2004)

Slovenia (2004)

Spain (1982)

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)

North Macedonia (2020)

Norway (1949)

Poland (1999)

Portugal (1949)

United Kingdom (1949)

Romania (2004)

Türkiye (1952)