Peter J. Thomas: President, not bureaucracy, determines foreign policy

To the editor:

Do elections make a difference?

According to the “professionals” who testified in the impeachment hearings, elections should be irrelevant to the course of U.S. foreign policy. Instead, policy should be set by the permanent, unelected staff of the executive branch.

The elected president should not, they say, interfere in policy-making. That is the only conclusion one can draw from statements accusing the president of “subverting” U.S. foreign policy.

In fact, the Constitution puts the president in charge of foreign policy, not the bureaucracy. He makes decisions, and the bureaucrats can faithfully carry out that policy or find another job.

Any subordinate who covertly undermines presidential policy is the one who is truly engaged in subversion.

Elections should matter. Policy should change when voters call for a new direction. The professionals can give advice, but they must not have the final word.

Peter J. Thomas

Silver Lake