(Zero Hedge)—Conservative and outspoken libertarian-leaning Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky introduced legislation Tuesday for the United States for formally withdraw from NATO. Sen. Mike Lee is also helping lead the charge, introducing companion legislation in the Senate.
The bill argues that the US military cannot be seen as the police force of the world, and that given NATO was created to counter the long-gone Soviet Union, which no longer exists, American taxpayers’ money would be better spent elsewhere.
“We should withdraw from NATO and use that money to defend our own country, not socialist countries… US participation has cost taxpayers trillions of dollars and continues to risk US involvement in foreign wars… America should not be the world’s security blanket – especially when wealthy countries refuse to pay for their own defense,” Massie said.
That latter part is likely designed to gain Trump’s attention and sympathy, given the president has been emphasizing this point all the way back to his first term.
The bill if passed would require the US government to formally notify NATO that it intends to end its membership and halt the use of American funds for shared budgets. Republican Senator Lee actually introduced similar legislation earlier this year, but it stalled in committee.
Of course, most Congress members have viewpoints which merely reflect the ‘pro-NATO’ established position of the vast majority of Western politicians generally, so it’s very unlikely to ever be passed.
Massie wrote on X, “NATO is a Cold War relic. The United States should withdraw from NATO and use that money to defend our country, not socialist countries. Today, I introduced HR 6508 to end our NATO membership.”
“Our Constitution did not authorize permanent foreign entanglements, something our Founding Fathers explicitly warned us against,” he said additionally.
The NATO Act:
- Requires the President to formally notify NATO of U.S. withdrawal under Article 13 of the North Atlantic Treaty.
- Concludes that NATO’s original Cold War purpose no longer aligns with current U.S. national security interests.
- Finds that European NATO members have adequate economic and military capacity to provide for their own defense.
- Prevents use of U.S. taxpayer funds for NATO’s common budgets, including its civil budget, military budget, and the Security Investment Program.
Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) has introduced companion legislation, S.2174, in the United States Senate. The text of the NATO Act is available at this link.
“If you could snap your fingers and get us out of NATO today, would you?” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, asked in a post on X.
“Yes,” Massie replied.https://t.co/Nifjbtt7O1
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) January 29, 2025
Under pressure from Trump, NATO members agreed this year to gradually raise their defense spending to 5% of GDP, significantly above the old 2% guideline. European leaders were finally amenable to this, despite mocking it years ago during Trump’s first term, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the “threat” to Europe that they perceive.
Moscow has denied time and again that it has ‘expansionist’ ambitions – yet US and EU leaders continue to portray Putin as some who dreams of reestablishing an old empire, or else revive Soviet power and borders.
