The United States Constitution provides that the president "shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two-thirds of the Senators present concur" (Article II, section 2). Treaties are binding agreements between nations and become part of international law. Treaties to which the United States is a party also have the force of federal legislation, forming part of what the Constitution calls ''the supreme Law of the Land.''
As someone said, there it is in black and white.
Forty-nine Senate Republicans are threatening to derail the Biden administration’s efforts to secure a new Iran nuclear agreement within the coming days.
Any new agreement that "does not have strong bipartisan support in Congress will not survive," the senators said in a statement issued Monday and provided to the White House. The lawmakers warned the administration that if it bypasses Congress and agrees to a deal without first allowing a vote in the Senate—as is required under a 2015 law—they will do "everything in our power to reverse it."
I agree with the 49 and trust Sen. Paul will join the call for a full ratification vote.
It's hard to believe that something this consequential should be done by executive agreement. The GOP, and a few Democrats, should call on the Biden administration to send it to the Senate ratification and a treaty vote.
Why? It's the Constitution after all. It makes President Biden look weak when he can't get a vote this important through the U.S. Senate. He’d look stronger walking into the negotiations with the Congress behind him.
Also, we don't convey seriousness as a nation when executive agreements are signed by the current president only to be canceled by the next one.
The Founding Fathers got this one right, too. Have an open and down vote, and the debate that goes with it.
