Overview
- President Trump has threatened to pull the United States out of NATO over frustration with European responses to the Iran war.
- Some allies point to the Unitary Executive Theory, a doctrine that claims broad presidential control, to argue he can exit the alliance without Congress.
- In a Washington Post column, George Will rejects that view and says leaving a treaty is not a solo presidential power.
- Will draws a line between recognizing foreign governments, which presidents can do alone, and treaties that bind the U.S., and he singles out legal scholar John Yoo’s defense of unilateral exits as faulty.
- Reporting notes that Congress passed a 2023 measure to block a go-it-alone NATO withdrawal, which would likely trigger a court fight if the White House tried to proceed.