Provision Buried in U.S. Defense Bill Would Stop Trump From Leaving NATO

A small clause added to the $886 billion defense policy bill passed by the House on Thursday denies future presidents from taking the United States out of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization without the approval of the Senate or another congressional act. According to The Hill, Sens. Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) led the move to add the measure, and President Joe Biden is expected to sign the bill into law. “My bipartisan bill to prevent any U.S. President from unilaterally withdrawing from NATO reaffirms U.S. support for this crucial alliance that is foundational for our national security,” Kaine wrote in a statement. “It also sends a strong message to authoritarians around the world that the free world remains united.” Rubio said the provision was a vital addition to congressional oversight. Reports came out in October that Donald Trump would again threaten to leave NATO if he won the White House and other members didn’t increase their military spending. On the former president’s campaign website, in a video titled “Agenda47: Preventing World War III,” Trump says, “We have to finish the process we began under my Administration of fundamentally reevaluating NATO’s purpose and NATO’s mission.”

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