Whatever Happened to Advice and Consent?

Theresa Smart / August 20, 2010

The Senate floor may be empty, but debate over the New START Treaty continues. Dismissing calls for debate as petty partisanship, many on the left urge a quick vote on the treaty. The treaty’s proponents fail to appreciate the Senate’s constitutional role in the treaty-making process.

In Article II, Section 2, the Constitution grants the President the “Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur.” James Wilson explains, “Neither the President nor the Senate, solely, can complete a treaty; they are checks upon each other, and are so balanced as to produce security to the people.” In Federalist 64, John Jay praises the treaty-making process that relies on both the President and the Senate: “We have reason to be persuaded that the treaties they make will be as advantageous as, all circumstances considered, could be made.” Thus, both the executive and legislature are essential to making treaties “law of the land.” But what does “Advice and Consent” mean in practice? (more…)