Congress eyes Munich conference as opportunity to rebuild confidence among NATO allies
This is performative politics again.
Congress hopes to use the Munich Security Conference as a platform to assess the U.S.-European relationship and provide reassurances to long-standing allies that Washington stands behind them.
At least 50 U.S. lawmakers, led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, are expected to mingle with NATO partners and attend the German summit on Feb. 13 and 14. The high-profile event comes as many NATO members grapple with the repercussions of a distinct shift in the U.S. attitude toward Europe, amplified by Vice President JD Vance’s speech at the Munich Conference last year. The realignment was later reiterated in the Pentagon’s 2025 National Security Strategy.
This weekend, Congress will seek to use the conference to crystallize the relationship, even as some congressional leaders have warned against traveling out of the country due to a looming government shutdown. Lawmakers ranging from Reps. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) and Michael Baumgartner (R-WA), both members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, to Senate Armed Services Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MI) and Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), are still heading to Germany, after Munich Security Conference chairman Wolfgang Ischinger said this week that “transatlantic relations are currently in a significant crisis of confidence and credibility.”
“I hope to work with our European allies and let them know that the United States is still [an ally],” Meeks, a top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told NOTUS.
Baumgartner said on Thursday he would be looking to gauge mood swings in Europe, with an eye toward evaluating whether the move of NATO allies to raise defense spending targets “after decades of underinvestment” marks a move toward strengthening or weakening their relationship with Washington.
“Are our allies building capability to bind themselves more tightly to the alliance — or building national escape hatches in case the alliance frays? That distinction is the real story of 2026,” Baumgartner wrote in a National Review op-ed. “The question now is whether that spending is being converted into usable capability and durable cohesion or whether we end up with a Europe and a West that are better armed but less aligned.”
His words come as top NATO allies have shifted toward building out relationships with other partners, amid Washington’s increasingly mercurial approach to decadeslong alliances. Canada and Great Britain are edging toward China, while French President Emanuel Macron described the Trump …
This is performative politics again.
Congress hopes to use the Munich Security Conference as a platform to assess the U.S.-European relationship and provide reassurances to long-standing allies that Washington stands behind them.
At least 50 U.S. lawmakers, led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, are expected to mingle with NATO partners and attend the German summit on Feb. 13 and 14. The high-profile event comes as many NATO members grapple with the repercussions of a distinct shift in the U.S. attitude toward Europe, amplified by Vice President JD Vance’s speech at the Munich Conference last year. The realignment was later reiterated in the Pentagon’s 2025 National Security Strategy.
This weekend, Congress will seek to use the conference to crystallize the relationship, even as some congressional leaders have warned against traveling out of the country due to a looming government shutdown. Lawmakers ranging from Reps. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) and Michael Baumgartner (R-WA), both members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, to Senate Armed Services Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MI) and Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), are still heading to Germany, after Munich Security Conference chairman Wolfgang Ischinger said this week that “transatlantic relations are currently in a significant crisis of confidence and credibility.”
“I hope to work with our European allies and let them know that the United States is still [an ally],” Meeks, a top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told NOTUS.
Baumgartner said on Thursday he would be looking to gauge mood swings in Europe, with an eye toward evaluating whether the move of NATO allies to raise defense spending targets “after decades of underinvestment” marks a move toward strengthening or weakening their relationship with Washington.
“Are our allies building capability to bind themselves more tightly to the alliance — or building national escape hatches in case the alliance frays? That distinction is the real story of 2026,” Baumgartner wrote in a National Review op-ed. “The question now is whether that spending is being converted into usable capability and durable cohesion or whether we end up with a Europe and a West that are better armed but less aligned.”
His words come as top NATO allies have shifted toward building out relationships with other partners, amid Washington’s increasingly mercurial approach to decadeslong alliances. Canada and Great Britain are edging toward China, while French President Emanuel Macron described the Trump …
Congress eyes Munich conference as opportunity to rebuild confidence among NATO allies
This is performative politics again.
Congress hopes to use the Munich Security Conference as a platform to assess the U.S.-European relationship and provide reassurances to long-standing allies that Washington stands behind them.
At least 50 U.S. lawmakers, led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, are expected to mingle with NATO partners and attend the German summit on Feb. 13 and 14. The high-profile event comes as many NATO members grapple with the repercussions of a distinct shift in the U.S. attitude toward Europe, amplified by Vice President JD Vance’s speech at the Munich Conference last year. The realignment was later reiterated in the Pentagon’s 2025 National Security Strategy.
This weekend, Congress will seek to use the conference to crystallize the relationship, even as some congressional leaders have warned against traveling out of the country due to a looming government shutdown. Lawmakers ranging from Reps. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) and Michael Baumgartner (R-WA), both members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, to Senate Armed Services Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MI) and Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), are still heading to Germany, after Munich Security Conference chairman Wolfgang Ischinger said this week that “transatlantic relations are currently in a significant crisis of confidence and credibility.”
“I hope to work with our European allies and let them know that the United States is still [an ally],” Meeks, a top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told NOTUS.
Baumgartner said on Thursday he would be looking to gauge mood swings in Europe, with an eye toward evaluating whether the move of NATO allies to raise defense spending targets “after decades of underinvestment” marks a move toward strengthening or weakening their relationship with Washington.
“Are our allies building capability to bind themselves more tightly to the alliance — or building national escape hatches in case the alliance frays? That distinction is the real story of 2026,” Baumgartner wrote in a National Review op-ed. “The question now is whether that spending is being converted into usable capability and durable cohesion or whether we end up with a Europe and a West that are better armed but less aligned.”
His words come as top NATO allies have shifted toward building out relationships with other partners, amid Washington’s increasingly mercurial approach to decadeslong alliances. Canada and Great Britain are edging toward China, while French President Emanuel Macron described the Trump …
