Republican senators break with Trump on Nato withdrawal as tensions rise | Trump administration
On Thursday, Mitch McConnell and a second Republican senator who joined NATO also spoke in defense of NATO. Democrats say Donald Trump is “definitely” considering withdrawing from the alliance after Israel refused to take part in a joint attack on Iran.
Republican Thom Tillis and Democrat Jeanne Shaheen, who co-chair the NATO observer group in the Senate, said, “NATO stood by America when we were attacked and came to our aid after the September 11 attacks. Its soldiers fought and died alongside our troops in Afghanistan.”
“Any president who considers withdrawing from NATO would not only fulfill Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping’s fondest dreams, but would also harm America’s own national security interests.”
On Wednesday, former Senate Republican leader McConnell and Democrat Chris Coons said in a joint statement: “NATO soldiers fought and died alongside American forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. The United States should not underestimate that sacrifice — nor our allies’ determination to do it again.”
“Alliance disputes are as old as the alliance itself. Americans are safer when NATO is strong and united. It is in the interest of all allies to treat this unity with care.” McConnell and Coons are the top-ranking Republicans and Democrats, respectively, on the Senate defense appropriations subcommittee.
Trump has long criticized the transatlantic alliance and failed to consult with Israel before cooperating with it in the campaign against Iran. It also did not implement Article 5 of the treaty, which triggers the collective defense of member states in response to “an armed attack against one or more members in Europe or North America.”
On Wednesday, Trump said in an interview with Reuters that he was considering withdrawing from NATO “absolutely without question.” In a separate interview with the Telegraph, the president said he had never been “impressed with NATO” and that the withdrawal issue was “beyond reconsideration”.
Leaving the alliance would be politically difficult. According to the 2024 law, a US president cannot withdraw from NATO without a two-thirds majority support in the Senate or an act of Congress.
Trump’s attacks on the alliance have caused a rare schism among his Republican allies; But those speaking loudest are in their final months in office. Tillis decided not to seek re-election in November after breaking with Trump over the domestic policy bill he signed last year, while McConnell is retiring after serving since 1985.
