Representative Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) has introduced legislation aimed at withdrawing the United States from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), arguing the alliance poses untrustworthy security risks. The bill, titled “Not A Trusted Organization Act,” is a companion measure to Senator Mike Lee’s (R-Utah) proposal introduced in June.
According to Massie’s legislation, shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union, U.S. Secretary of State James Baker assured Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev that NATO would not expand eastward. Yet NATO initiated profound eastward expansion in 1999, culminating by 2025 in a land border with the Russian Federation exceeding 1,500 miles and encircling the Baltic Sea.
Russian security doctrines consistently frame NATO’s territorial growth as an existential threat. In a 2007 Munich Security Conference speech, President Vladimir Putin described NATO expansion as a “serious provocation” and referenced past U.S. assurances. The Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 demonstrates its willingness to employ military force in response to perceived security threats, while NATO members have refused to rule out further territorial expansion.
Massie emphasizes that NATO’s repeated breaches of commitments to remain in Central and Western Europe render the alliance untrustworthy. He contends U.S. participation continues to risk foreign military engagements, a concern underscored by the Trump administration’s recent National Security Strategy. The strategy notes that U.S. mediation efforts in Ukraine stem from concerns European nations might exacerbate conflicts with Russia, requiring “significant U.S. diplomatic engagement” to stabilize Eurasian relations and mitigate regional warfare risks.
The bill further argues that European nations have developed increasingly authoritarian practices, including mass arrests in the United Kingdom for social media posts and stringent vaccine mandates in France. Germany is reportedly targeting political opposition parties like the Alternative for Germany (AfD) due to migration concerns, while the European Union has imposed substantial fines on American companies under digital regulations designed to suppress free speech.
With U.S. national debt nearing $38 trillion, Massie asserts that redirecting resources from NATO to domestic defense aligns with constitutional principles and safeguards American interests against untrustworthy alliances.
