Congress in 1995 passed a law recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and stating that “the United States Embassy in Israel should be established in Jerusalem no later than May 31, 1999.” An inbuilt waiver authority allowed the president to postpone the move, in the interests of “national security,” for consecutive six-monthly periods.
Not the State Dept.
The reality is that State calls this shot. In 1948 President Truman, BTW, told State to shut up and recognized the State of Israel over vehement State Department objections.