Former Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) warned Thursday that if the US abandons its alliance's military leader for the first time in its 75-year history, the Trump administration would significantly weaken NATO.
“Damping down American leadership will not strengthen NATO or the US interests. If you are serious about encouraging more capable European allies, retreating from your position as leader of the Transatlantic Alliance is a strange way to show it,” McConnell said Thursday afternoon.
He later issued a statement NBC News reported The Department of Defense is considering restructuring the country's combat orders and is studying what the US is proposing to abandon its long-standing role as NATO's top allied commander, Europe.
McConnell warned at a press conference held in Kentucky earlier this week that Russia and its allies, including China, continue to pose serious risks to the interests of the US.
“What we want to avoid here is the headline 'Russia wins, America loses',” McConnell told local reporters on the day President Trump made a long call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
He called on Congress to increase defense spending and the United States to increase its commitment to NATO.
“How to see this global competition at this particular point in our history: it's authoritarian vs. Democrats,” he said. “Obviously, Democrats need to be more aggressive, including an increase in NATO spending.”
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) have pushed back the possibility that the US would abandon NATO's military command.
“We are very concerned about the report we argue. [the Defense Department] They said in a joint statement.
The GOP chair said it supports Trump's efforts to increase defence spending of its European allies, but warned that Congress must be part of a major change in the combat order.
“We will not accept any severe interagency processes, coordination with combatants and joint staff, or significant changes to combat structures made without cooperation with Congress,” they warned.
