Former Ambassador Michael McFaul called upon Congress to “step up” and constrain President Donald Trump’s foreign policy — and offered an innovative mechanism for Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi to get the job done.

“The U.S. Congress must play an increasingly robust, vocal, and public role in U.S. national security starting in January. Congress has more constitutional powers to constrain presidential power than they have traditionally used,” McFaul tweeted. “Time to step up.”

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“Maybe speaker Pelosi should establish her own national security council, a group of bipartisan foreign policy advisors that would report directly to House leadership on matters of American grand strategy (& not do staff work at the committee level),” he explained.

One of the nation’s leading constitutional scholars endorsed the idea, suggesting McFaul may have an argument about the scope of power over foreign policy that Pelosi will be able to yield once Democrats take control in January.

“I second the motion,” Prof. Laurence Tribe said. “A super idea, for all kinds of reasons…”

Maybe speaker Pelosi should establish her own national security council, a group of bipartisan foreign policy advisors that would report directly to House leadership on matters of American grand strategy (& not do staff work at the committee level). https://t.co/BNet3BuFWd — Michael McFaul (@McFaul) December 22, 2018

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