The Meaning of “Advice and Consent”: The Senate’s Constitutional Role in Treatymaking

This article analyzes the role that the Constitution assigns to the Senate in treatymaking and the implications of this role on the relationship between the President and the Senate. Part I examines the meaning of “advice and consent” in the Treaty Clause. It discusses the origins of the phrase “advice and consent,” the history of the drafting of the Treaty Clause, and the implications of the Framers’ decision to include the Treaty Clause in Article II of the Constitution.