The president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, could take advantage of a legal loophole and withdraw the country from NATO. This was reported by Politico.
in cadence joe biden A law was passed that any decision by the president to withdraw from the North Atlantic Alliance must be approved by the Senate with a two-thirds vote or by an act of Congress, but “the law is flawed” and lawyers fear that Trump could take advantage of a loophole in the exclusive powers of the head of state in the field of foreign policy, the newspaper writes.
There have already been precedents, the publication notes, such as the United States’ withdrawal from the Open Skies Treaty during Trump’s first presidency. In 2019, Congress passed an amendment requiring the head of the Department of Defense and the secretary of State to notify lawmakers at least 120 days before withdrawing from the treaty. However, the Justice Department decided that the notification requirements violated the American leader’s constitutional authority in the field of foreign policy. The president’s authority to decide to withdraw from treaties “derives from his constitutional role as the nation’s sole representative in foreign affairs,” he said.
However, Politico writes, even if Trump decides to withdraw the United States from NATO, this process is unlikely to end quickly. According to the procedure, a “North Atlantic Treaty termination notification” must first be submitted to inform other alliance members of its decision, and only after a year will the country’s membership be considered officially terminated.
