The Senate bill introduced Thursday marks one of several bipartisan proposals that would push back at the Trump administration's foreign policy after the president's meeting with Vladimir Putin. | Evan Vucci/AP Photo Bipartisan Senate proposal unveiled to stop Trump from leaving NATO

Two senior GOP senators joined two Democrats on Thursday to propose a bill that would allow Congress to stop President Donald Trump from pulling out of NATO, the U.S.-European alliance that Trump has repeatedly criticized.

The legislation, from Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.), would let the Senate take the executive branch to court if any administration attempts to withdraw from NATO without first seeking the upper chamber’s approval. The bipartisan measure also sets out formal opposition to withdrawal from NATO.


Trump has suggested in the past that the United States might pull out of NATO if European nations don’t up their defense spending, though doing so would likely require an act of Congress. Trump took a fresh potshot Thursday during remarks to steelworkers in Illinois, describing the post-World War II alliance as “better for Europe than it is for us.”

The Senate bill introduced Thursday marks one of several bipartisan proposals that would push back at the Trump administration’s foreign policy after the president’s polarizing one-on-one with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week. While it’s unclear whether GOP leaders would allow a vote on any of the bills, they indicate a simmering discontent with Trump’s attempt to warm relations with Russia.

“As the Constitution requires and this legislation reaffirms, any change proposed by this administration or future administrations regarding America’s standing in this alliance can be done only with the advice and consent of the Senate,” Gardner, the Senate GOP’s campaigns chief, said in a statement.