NATO Debate: President Trump Has the Constitutional Authority to Leave Alliance

The Iran war has had the unintended consequence of undermining the West’s preeminent postwar alliance. Disappointed by the refusal of European allies to assist the United States, the Trump administration is floating the possibility of exiting the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Critics argue that the president cannot terminate a treaty on his own. But the Constitution is clear: Presidents can indeed unilaterally end U.S. participation in international agreements. If Donald Trump wants to tear up the NATO treaty, he can just do it. And in June, the Supreme Court may even provide implicit support for such an exercise of presidential power.

Just because Trump can take such action, however, doesn’t mean he should.

About the Author

John Yoo

John Yoo is the Thomas W. Smith Senior Fellow at the Civitas Institute, University of Texas at Austin; Emanuel S. Heller Professor of Law at the University of California at Berkeley; and a nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. He is a co-author of the just-released two-volume American Constitutional Law (Routledge, 2026).

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The Iran war has had the unintended consequence of undermining the West’s preeminent postwar alliance. Disappointed by the refusal of European allies to assist the United States, the Trump administration is floating the possibility of exiting the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Critics argue that the president cannot terminate a treaty on his own. But the Constitution is clear: Presidents can indeed unilaterally end U.S. participation in international agreements. If Donald Trump wants to tear up the NATO treaty, he can just do it. And in June, the Supreme Court may even provide implicit support for such an exercise of presidential power.

Just because Trump can take such action, however, doesn’t mean he should.

About the Author

John Yoo

John Yoo is the Thomas W. Smith Senior Fellow at the Civitas Institute, University of Texas at Austin; Emanuel S. Heller Professor of Law at the University of California at Berkeley; and a nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. He is a co-author of the just-released two-volume American Constitutional Law (Routledge, 2026).