This lesson will Explain the powers that the Constitution gives to the president and Congress in foreign affairs and how these powers have been used.

The Constitution of the United States gives the president the clear upper hand in the conduct of foreign policy. The president is the commander in chief of the nation’s armed forces. As the single officer of the United States charged with receiving the leaders of other nations and with negotiating treaties, the president is also the nation’s chief diplomat. Moreover, in times of crisis, such as in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, people tend to focus their attention on the president and look to him for leadership. In such circumstances, the Congress almost always defers to the president, offering support for his policies and standing unified with him in pursuit of the nation’s interests.

While the president has the ability to act more independently in times of crisis, the same is not true with regard to establishing the broader foreign policy of the nation. Generally, situations in which the president can act decisively with regard to foreign policy are rare. The Constitution gives the Congress the power to check the president’s foreign policy powers in important ways. While the president has the authority to “make war” by ordering the United States military into action to respond to emergencies and threats to the security of the nation, only the Congress has the authority to officially “declare war.” Even when presidents have committed the United States to long-term military actions, which are called “undeclared wars,” Congress retained the authority to cut off funding for such exercises, effectively bringing them to an end. The Congress, however, has been reluctant to exercise its constitutionally granted “power of the purse” in military matters. The ability of the Congress to do so, however, is an important check on the president’s authority as commander in chief.

While the president clearly has the upper hand in war-making authority, the Congress has far more influence over other areas of foreign policy making. For example, in treaty making, the president must also work together with the Congress. The president is free to negotiate treaties with other nations, but those treaties must be ratified by the Senate before they are officially binding for the United States. This is another example of how branches of the government can check and balance each other. Because the Senate must approve all treaties, the President is not free to negotiate for things that are contrary to the needs and desires of the American people.

In more day-to-day foreign policy making, Congress establishes the budgets of the State Department and other foreign policy agencies, which are officially charged with implementing the president’s foreign policies. In most cases, it is the secretary of state and his or her assistants who represent the United States and its interests to other nations, not the president himself. Through congressional oversight (and sometimes investigation) of these individuals and the departments and agencies they work for, the House and Senate can further influence the president’s foreign policy efforts. However, the very nature of the Congress limits its ability to influence and check the president’s foreign policy actions. The president’s constitutional authority and ability to act unilaterally, juxtaposed against 535 often divided members of Congress, give the president a decisive edge.

Further complicating (and limiting) the president’s ability to act independently and decisively is the influence of the American people and the media on foreign policy making. Instantaneous communication allows people to witness, in their living rooms, the aims and ends of American foreign policy on live television. Americans travel abroad and in other ways deal with individuals, businesses, and organizations in other nations in ways that influence and shape America’s foreign policy.

At the end of the day, however, it is still the president of the United States who stands alone as the single, authoritative spokesman for United States foreign policy. The job of the president in this capacity, however, is very often to influence and shape national and international opinion to move the world and the nation in the direction he believes best. Times when the president can act unilaterally and decisively, such as in response to a crisis, are the exceptions rather than the rule.