Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) tweeted this photo of Alan Gross arriving in the United States after being released from Cuba.
The big news that the Obama administration is
moving toward normalizing relations with Cuba, including easing travel and trade restrictions, is inevitably developing into a flurry of questions about exactly what the president can do and what would require congressional action. Republican Cuba dead-enders are
looking for ways to block any meaningful action. Policy experts, though, say Obama can use executive power to
make some significant changes—short of lifting the embargo, which would take congressional action.
“The laws were written in such a way that gave the executive branch a good amount of leeway,” said John Kavulich, senior policy adviser for the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council. “He has a lot of discretion, and it seems as though he’s intending to use it. [...]
“Fundamentally, the embargo is law, and without Congress’s backing, the heart of U.S. economic sanctions will remain in place,” said Mark Lagon, an adjunct senior fellow for human rights with the Council on Foreign Relations. [...]
But through regulations, Obama can chip away at the effectiveness of the sanctions, making it easier for people to travel or trade with Cuba.
As Markos argued Wednesday, the politics of this issue are also
more complicated even among Republicans than the responses from politicians like Sen. Marco Rubio (who went on just about every news channel to rant against any changes on Wednesday) might lead one to believe. Arizona Republican Sen. Jeff Flake traveled to Cuba to accompany Alan Gross home. South Carolina Rep. Mark Sanford also expressed support for Obama's actions, and both
Flake and Sanford plan to push bills opening up travel to Cuba. And some Republican governors would like to see greater trade with Cuba to benefit their state economies. So while the loudest Republican voices on this, the ones blanketing the airwaves, are voices of rage and outrage, Obama is not once again facing a Republican Party unified in opposition.