Essay Help – Who controls foreign policy: The President or Congress?

The Constitution grants Congress the power to declare war and therefore, constitutionally speaking, the President has little say over foreign policy. Congress has voted to declare war on 11 occasions most recently in 1941, they voted to declare war on Japan. However, in reality, Congress has essentially given up this constitutional power and has not, despite the numerous conflicts the USA has been engaged in, for over 80 years. It is far more common for the President to now ask Congress for authorisation to use troops in combat rather than look to them to declare war. For example, in 2002, President George Bush asked Congress for the authorisation to use troops in Iraq, to which Congress agreed. This has been the case since the Gulf on Tonkin resolution in 1964 saw President Johnson gain authorisation to use force in Vietnam. In fact, some Presidents have taken military action without even notifying Congress. For example, Richard Nixon bombed Cambodia and Ronald Reagan invaded Grenada, all without informing Congress prior to carrying out the action. Nonetheless, Congress has attempted to regain some of the power it has lost to the President in foreign policy. In 1973, Congress passed the War Powers act which said that it could order the President to notify it of the use of troops within 48 hours of doing so and requires that the President remove forces within 60 days if they have not obtained authorisation from Congress. The War Powers Act has not achieved its goal however and President have been able to find ways around it. For example, Barack Obama claimed that he could not withdraw US troops from air strikes on Libya in 2011 because they were part of a NATO mission rather than a strictly US mission. Moreover, in 2019, Congress successfully used the War Powers Act for the first time, demanding that President Trump withdraw his support for Saudi Arabia in the Yemeni War. Trump was able to veto the use of the War Powers Act on this occasion thus proving how limited Congress’ control over the President’s foreign policy is.

Another way in which the President dominates foreign policy is that they set the tone. All Presidents have implemented their vision for US relations rather than the vision of a body as large and diverse as Congress. In the 1980s, Ronald Reagan took a more belligerent tone in the Cold War, escalating the conflict before successfully negotiating its conclusion. In 2002, President Bush’s response to 9/11 saw him label Iraq, Iran and North Korea as an ‘axis of evil’ and set about regime change in these countries. The failure of this policy saw his successor, Barack Obama take a more conciliatory tone. On all occasions, US foreign policy changed with a change of President, not because of the influence of Congress. Despite this, Congress can often advocate loudly for a particular foreign policy route. For example, in 2015, the Republican leadership in Congress invited Benjamin Netanyahu to address their body, neglecting to invite President Obama, whom had a difficult relationship with Netanyahu. In 2022, the Democratic leadership in Congress visited Taiwan without the prior approval of President Biden who said of the visit ‘it was not a good idea right now’. In reality, there is little that these interventions can actually achieve. Such occasions are merely ceremonial, often intended to put pressure on the President but are unlikely to have success in influencing their foreign policy. Ultimately, it is the President who, as commander in chief of the armed forces, has the power to determine the direction of foreign policy.

Congress will have more success in determining the more formal agreements made between a President and foreign powers. It has becoming increasingly difficult for Presidents to have treaties ratified by the US Congress, a power held exclusively by the Senate and requiring a 2/3 majority. Most famously, the Senate refused to ratify the Peace Paris Agreement following WW1, and the SALT II agreement that had been negotiated in 1979 to reduce the nuclear arsenal held by the US and Soviet Union. Despite, this, Congress has often sided with the President on treaties, for example, agreeing to ratify the START treaty in 2011 and even agreeing to a climate deal act, the Kigali Amendment, which was ratified by the Senate in 2022. This demonstrates that although it is difficult for the President to make agreements with foreign powers that require a treaty, it is not impossible. In reality however, Presidents have long since realised that they are likely to face great opposition if they attempt to get treaties ratified by the Senate and have found ways around the problem. Between 1946-1999, the government signed over 16,000 agreements with foreign powers but submitted just 6% of these to the Senate to be ratified as treaties. Instead, Presidents have argued that what might appear to be treaties are in fact executive agreements and do not require Senate approval. For example, President Obama signed the Paris Climate Change Accords in 2015 and in the same year also concluded an agreement with Iran which placed restrictions on its nuclear programme. Both looked liked treaties but Obama, as many Presidents before and after have been able to do, claimed otherwise. Therefore, it is clear that even when it comes to the ratification of international agreements, Congress has very little power over the President.