The U.S. Supreme Court Pink (1942) found that international agreements, which were concluded in law, have the same legal status as treaties and do not require Senate approval. To Reid v. Concealed (1957), the Tribunal, while reaffirming the President`s ability to enter into executive agreements, found that such agreements could not be contrary to existing federal law or the Constitution. The U.S. Constitution does not explicitly give a president the power to enter into executive agreements. However, it may be authorized to do so by Congress or may do so on the basis of its foreign relations management authority. Despite questions about the constitutionality of executive agreements, the Supreme Court ruled in 1937 that they had the same force as treaties. As executive agreements are made on the authority of the president-in-office, they do not necessarily bind his successors.
The Senate originally held its meetings behind closed doors, and debates on the Jay Treaty were no exception. Even after the opening of a public gallery by the Senate in December 1795, the tradition of debate on contracts and appointments continued in secret session until the beginning of the 20th century. Newspapers often published reports on secret discussions and occasionally printed the text of a contract before senators received their official copies. The Senate investigated, annoyed and protested, but was powerless to stop the leaks that probably came from the members themselves. It was not until 1929 that executive meetings were systematically open to the press and the public. Today, the Senate only holds closed meetings in the rarest of circumstances, usually to deal with classified information. The Senate rejected a series of contracts in the last quarter of the 19th century. To avoid the same fate for his peace agreement with Spain, President William McKinley appointed three U.S. senators in 1898 to negotiate the treaty. Senators from both parties strongly criticized his action, but the Senate ultimately agreed to ratify the resulting treaty. A generation later, senators criticized President Woodrow Wilson for not including members in the delegation that negotiated the Treaty of Versailles, ended the First World War and established the League of Nations. Instead, Wilson negotiated the contract in person.
When the president delivered the treaty to the Senate on July 10, 1919, most Democrats supported it, but Republicans were divided. The “reservists,” led by Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, only sought treaty approval if certain reservations or amendments were accepted. The “irreversibles” rejected the treaty in all its forms. In November, Lodge sent the contract to the Senate with 14 reservations, prompting a furious Wilson to ask Democrats to reject Lodge`s plan. November 1919, a group of Democratic senators joined the irreconcilable to defeat the treaty. The United States never ratified the Treaty of Versailles and did not join the League of Nations.