The Atlantic

Trump Didn't Move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem—but He Still Might

Like his predecessors, the president signed a waiver delaying the transfer of the American embassy from Tel Aviv, but there are signs he could still go through with the transfer.
Source: Amir Cohen / Reuters

President Trump’s campaign promise to move the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem—coupled with his reiterating this promise as a sitting president—means the administration could be forced into a will-he-or-won’t-he pattern every six months, instead of being able to quietly punt like his predecessors.

On Thursday, the White House announced that Trump had signed the waiver which must be signed every six months in order to keep the embassy in Tel Aviv. But in its statement, the White House re-emphasized Trump’s promise to move it.

“While President Donald J. Trump signed the waiver under the Jerusalem Embassy Act and delayed moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from The Atlantic

The Atlantic8 min readAmerican Government
The Return of the John Birch Society
Michael Smart chuckled as he thought back to their banishment. Truthfully he couldn’t say for sure what the problem had been, why it was that in 2012, the John Birch Society—the far-right organization historically steeped in conspiracism and oppositi
The Atlantic17 min read
How America Became Addicted to Therapy
A few months ago, as I was absent-mindedly mending a pillow, I thought, I should quit therapy. Then I quickly suppressed the heresy. Among many people I know, therapy is like regular exercise or taking vitamin D: something a sensible person does rout
The Atlantic7 min readAmerican Government
The Americans Who Need Chaos
This is Work in Progress, a newsletter about work, technology, and how to solve some of America’s biggest problems. Sign up here. Several years ago, the political scientist Michael Bang Petersen, who is based in Denmark, wanted to understand why peop

Related Books & Audiobooks