Hegseth orders review of US forces in Europe and presses NATO allies
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth used a June 18 appearance at NATO headquarters in Brussels to announce a review, lasting up to six months and including consultations with Congress, of American troop deployments in Europe, Al Jazeera reported . He framed it as ensuring NATO moves “fast and irreversibly” toward Europe leading its own defense.
Hegseth threatened to withhold a portion of US NATO contributions from allies he accused of “free riding” on American capabilities, and demanded guaranteed US basing and overflight rights, citing allied refusals during recent operations against Iran. He described a “NATO 3.0” in which Europe takes primary responsibility for continental defense. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte pointed to a roughly $90 billion increase in allied defense spending in 2025, a 20 percent jump from the prior year.
The announcement formalizes a long-signaled US drawdown posture and turns spending pressure into an explicit financial lever. For European capitals it sharpens a planning problem: they must assume reduced US reinforcement in a crisis while Russia’s war in Ukraine continues, accelerating already-rising defense budgets and debates over who fills the gap.