Now that the shouting is over, what did that bill actually deliver?
On August 2, President Trump signed into law the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATS). What is the significance of the law?
Zlatko Hadzismajlovic: Many things stand out, but here are three that are foremost. First is the sheer number of members of Congress, on both sides of the aisle, who supported the legislation. It passed the House by a staggering margin and the Senate by a vote of 98-2. Second, the support in both houses, coupled with the Trump administration’s Russia predicament, made it obvious that the president wouldn’t have done himself any favors with a veto, as Congress had more than the requisite two-thirds to override. Third, this is really a wonderful example of the interplay of foreign policy authority accorded to Congress and the president via Articles I and II of the Constitution, respectively.
Click to read full article: Deconstructing Those Russia Sanctions