World Leaders Wary of Trump May Have an Ally: Congress
WASHINGTON — President Trump threatens to upend the post-World War II foreign policy order, but Congress is working to ensure that American foreign policy remains rooted in the trans-Atlantic alliance against traditional rivals like Russia.
Republicans have been careful not to frame their foreign policy moves as a counterweight to the president, who has doled out insults to foreign leaders on Twitter, bailed out of international trade and climate accords and turned on Qatar, an important American ally, as a sponsor of terrorism.
But as the Republican efforts pile up, they are leaving a definite impression of advancing an anti-Trump foreign policy. Last week, after months of hand-wringing, the Senate voted overwhelmingly to strengthen sanctions against Russia. Senators also voted unanimously to affirm American support for the mutual defense doctrine articulated in Article 5 of the NATO charter.
It was a clear rebuke to Mr. Trump, who has waffled on his support for Article 5 since he was a candidate.
And on Tuesday, a measure that would have blocked part of a $500 million arms sale to Saudi Arabia — only weeks after Mr. Trump was received with adulation in the kingdom — had so much bipartisan support that Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson and Vice President Mike Pence had to make a panicked scramble to defeat it. Four Republicans voted to block the sale, and Mr. Trump was saved by Democratic senators who backed him.
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