The United States’ involvement
in the Paris Climate Agreement
illustrates how a president can bypass
Congress and initiate meaningful policy
change. Members of President Obama’s
executive branch participated in the initial
talks to develop the accord, and Obama
announced that the United States would
comply with the agreement in late 2015.
However, Donald Trump opposed the
agreement during his 2016 campaign, and
as president has announced his intention
to withdraw from it.How it works: in practice
Presidential
Action and the
Paris Climate
Agreement
This is
important.During both of President
Obama’s campaigns
for office, he argued in
favor of new international
agreements to fight
climate change.We want
a say!Many Republican senators
who opposed the accord
demanded that President
Obama submit the
agreement for ratification
as a treaty.We’re out!
In August 2017, President
Trump announced that the
United States intended
to withdraw from the
agreement.Let’s
talk.Obama, White House staff,
and others in the executive
branch discussed policy
options and negotiation
strategies. American
diplomats were deeply
involved in negotiating
the United Nations
Framework Convention
on Climate Change.We have
a deal.Building on the
framework convention,
representatives from
196 nations developed
the Paris Climate
Agreement. U.S.
Secretary of State John
Kerry signed the accord
in November 2015.This is
a risk.Although making the
accord an executive
agreement removed
the risk that the Senate
would reject the treaty,
it also meant that any
future president could
end the United States’
participation without
further action
by Congress.More
negotiation?In December 2017,
Trump said that he
was open to keeping
the United States in
the accord if some
of its provisions were
renegotiated.President + staff + other nations:
President + Congress
A new president
You don’t
get one.The Obama administration
announced it would
implement the accord as
an executive agreement,
so a congressional vote
was not required.Well,
maybe not.Under the terms of the
agreement, a country
cannot submit a notice
to withdraw until the
agreement has been in
effect for four years,
meaning the United
States must remain
bound by the agreement
for Trump’s first term.The Constitution describes
the president’s influence over new
policy initiatives in terms of the power
to sign or veto acts of Congress.
But what can the president do
when Congress fails to act how he
or she wants?President + White House staff
develop proposals—they talk to the public,
members of Congress, interest groups, union
and corporation heads, party leaders, and
others. Some of these groups initiate contact
and submit their own ideas or even fully
drafted plans.President + Congress
sometimes find compromise proposals—
but other times negotiations reveal that the
president’s plans will not receive majority
support in the House and Senate.President + White House staff
investigate whether some or all of the
president’s goals can be achieved through
executive order or other means.President
issues appropriate orders
and directives.Congress
decides whether to enact legislation
reversing the president’s actions.
They need a two-thirds majority in
both houses to override an expected
presidential veto.Presidential appointees,
assuming congressional attempts
to reverse the new policies are
unsuccessful, administer
implementation of the new policies.How it works: in theory
How Presidents Make Policy Outside
the Legislative Process
- Why do you think President
Obama decided to treat
the accord as an executive
agreement rather than a treaty?
Would the situation be different
if Democrats were the majority
party in the Senate? - Candidate Trump campaigned
against the Paris Agreement—
but President Trump has shown
some willingness to remain in a
renegotiated accord. Why would
it make sense that his position
changed once he was in office?
Critical Thinking
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