Top Dem: Lawmakers taking ‘more active role’ in Trump foreign policy

Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) says Congress is taking a more active role in foreign policy as it reviews the president’s authority over nuclear weapons.

“We have been more prescriptive on the responsibilities of the president on foreign policy, and that’s Congress’s prerogative, and we’ve done that under President Trump. So, yes, we are taking a more active role,” Cardin told Politico.

He added that “we could now have a more deliberative process under the presidential command for the use of nuclear weapons, and I think Congress is looking for a way to assert itself in that regard.”

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on which Cardin is the ranking Democrat, held a hearing earlier this month over the president’s authority to use nuclear weapons. The discussion came after President Trump made comments that North Korea could face “fire and fury” if it continues to advance its nuclear program.

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North Korea is only one of the foreign policy issues where Congress is taking a more active role.

Cardin and other senators have also urged Trump to enforce tougher sanctions on Russia. Cardin believes there is little difference between Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on that issue.

He noted lawmakers’ concern over Trump’s recent statement that he trusts Russian President Vladimir Putin’s claims that he did not interfere in the 2016 election. 

“We’re watching very carefully to make sure they, in fact, impose the mandatory sanctions on the due dates, but we do know there is a reluctance on the behalf of the Trump administration,” Cardin said.