Senator Jeff Flake continued to speak openly about his worries with the Trump administration.
Speaking most recently to the Council on Foreign Relations, Flake said President Trump has seriously damaged U.S. leadership with our allies.
“I have been concerned about American leadership abroad,” he told the room.
Beginning with his initial hard line opposition to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
“The experience with regard to NATO… and our commitment to Article V…Aw, we finally came out, in the end, in the right place," Flake said. "But, there was no value in taking a couple of months to get there.”
While the President has vowed to repeal the Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, Flake avoided calling it a “wrong decision” as fellow U.S. Sen. John McCain had.
Instead, Flake reiterated the importance of placing that proverbial ball in congress’ court.
“What the last president did was beyond his constitutional authority,” Flake said. “This is congress’ prerogative. So, Congress needs to act and do this on a permanent basis. I fully expect that we will.”
As for Trump’s refugee ban, Flake said he thinks the courts will uphold most of it, but he does not agree that they need to be vetted anymore than they already are.
Flake said America at its best is accepting of refugees.