History Shows Obama Doesn’t Need Congress to Seal Iran Deal

 THE DAILY SIGNAL – In a letter to Iran this week, nearly four dozen Republican senators showcased the limitations of a potential unilateral nuclear deal by President Obama, rightly warning that the future U.S. president could reverse the agreement.

 But in trying to assert their power, the senators skirted over the fact that presidents have executive authority to make deals with foreign countries—without needing to go to Congress.

 While Republican congressional leaders are pushing the Obama administration to handle its nuclear negotiations with Iran as a treaty, which would require approval from two-thirds of the upper chamber, history shows that presidents can—and often do—avoid this requirement by forging “executive agreements” with foreign countries.

 Executive agreements are international agreements that do not require congressional approval in some instances. However, the compacts can be reversed by both the current and succeeding presidents.

Then get The Morning Bell, an early morning edition of the day’s most important political news, conservative commentary and original reporting from a team committed to following the truth no matter where it leads.

Executive agreements have been used for more than two centuries. Accordingto a February report from the Congressional Research Service, the U.S. has concluded more than 18,500 executive agreements since 1789.

However, the majority of those covenants—17,300—occurred after World War II, when presidents’ use of executive agreements increased substantially.