WASHINGTON (Reuters) – In an attempt to prevent any future U.S. president from leaving NATO, both Democratic and Republican senators have come together to renew their efforts. This move comes amidst the eventful summit taking place in Vilnius, Lithuania, where alliance leaders are in attendance.
According to a joint resolution seen by Reuters, Congress aims to ensure that the president is unable to withdraw from the alliance without the approval of the Senate. The measure states, “The President shall not suspend, terminate, denounce, or withdraw the United States from the North Atlantic Treaty, done at Washington, DC, April 4, 1949, except by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, provided that two-thirds of the Senators present concur or pursuant to an Act of Congress.”
The lead sponsors of this bill are Democratic Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Foreign Relations and Armed Services committees, and Republican Senator Marco Rubio, who serves as the vice chairman of the intelligence committee and is also a senior member of the foreign relations panel.
This resolution has been introduced several times in the past, even during the tenure of former Republican President Donald Trump, who expressed his desire for the United States to leave the military alliance. While it has yet to pass the full Senate, an aide to Kaine pointed out that it received strong bipartisan support from the foreign relations committee last year. Given the ongoing war in Ukraine and the expansion of NATO, supporters are optimistic that it will garner even stronger support this time.
The current president, Democrat Joe Biden, has consistently shown his support for NATO, advocating for its expansion and actively collaborating with other members, especially in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It is expected that President Biden will emphasize the unity of the alliance over Ukraine in his speech at the Vilnius summit on Wednesday.
Notably, the summit included the inaugural session of the NATO-Ukraine Council, a body established to enhance the relationship between Kyiv and the 31-member transatlantic military alliance.
(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)
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