presdient in foreign policy

• Constitutional powers

  • President can negotiate treaties, but they must be ratified by the Senate.
  • President is commander-in-chief of the US military.
  • Congress holds the power of the purse (funding military action) and the authority to declare war.
  • President appoints key foreign policy officials (secretaries of state, defense, homeland security, and ambassadors).
• Extra-Constitutional powers

  • President sets foreign policy tone through speeches (e.g., State of the Union, inauguration).
  • Trump’s 2017 inauguration emphasized reducing military commitments abroad.
  • President can sign executive agreements with foreign countries without Senate approval.
• Obama and ‘soft power’

  • Obama preferred diplomacy over war, using 'soft power' in foreign policy.
  • In 2014, he outlined a "might doing right" policy focusing on alliances and sanctions.
  • In 2011, Obama completed the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq.
  • In 2015, he brokered a deal with Iran to limit nuclear weapons in exchange for lifting sanctions.