LNC Voting on New Foreign Policy Resolution After FARA Proposal Failure

The Libertarian National Committee is currently voting on a revised foreign policy resolution following the failure of a narrower proposal earlier this month that primarily targeted pro-Israel advocacy groups.

The measure, introduced over the weekend at the request of Region 1 alternate Bryce Thon and later co-sponsored by multiple members including Chair Steven Nekhaila, calls for the immediate end of all foreign aid, withdrawal from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and the restoration of the exclusive authority for Congress to declare war.

The motion also calls for expanded enforcement of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, including directing the Department of Justice to apply the law “equally and without exception” to all foreign agents, and for new disclosure requirements covering foreign-linked funding tied to political campaigns, PACs, nonprofits, think tanks, and other operations of political influence.

It replaces an earlier resolution put forward by Thon at the end of March that failed by a 4–9 vote, with four members not voting. That original proposal would have called on the Department of Justice to require pro-Israel lobbying organizations to register as foreign agents under FARA, naming groups such as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, Christians United for Israel, the Anti-Defamation League, and the American Jewish Committee.

Opposition to the earlier measure centered on both its scope and legal basis. In a lengthy discussion on the LNC’s public Business List, members critical of the resolution argued that the measure singled out advocacy networks specifically tied to Israel while ignoring the wider landscape of foreign lobbying related to other foreign governments.

Several members also questioned whether the organizations named in the resolution met the legal standard required under FARA, which hinges on acting under the direction or control of a foreign government. Some members went further, raising concerns about whether the committee should be invoking FARA at all or otherwise calling for government action that could be seen as expanding state power.

Following the earlier vote, Nekhaila, who was one of the members in initial opposition, said he would work with Thon to produce a version that could appeal to wider support. The new resolution accounts for that effort, expanding its overall focus while sidestepping some of the objections that sank the previous motion.

The revised version drops the Israel-specific focus and instead more broadly targets foreign influence and military commitments. It references multiple countries in addition to Israel, among them Ukraine, Germany, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, and NATO member states. It also points to ongoing geopolitical flashpoints such as the Israel–Iran conflict, the Russia–Ukraine war, tensions involving China and Taiwan, and the Korean peninsula, all of which the resolution states carry the risk of escalation, including potential nuclear warfare.

The resolution calls for ending all forms of foreign aid without exception, including intelligence assistance and the subsidization of arms transfers. It also calls for withdrawing from NATO, rejecting future security guarantees, and opposing commitments that could draw the United States into conflicts with major powers such as Russia, China, Iran, or North Korea.

Voting on the motion continues through April 19. As a resolution, adoption requires a three-fourths majority of the national committee.