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Top Foreign Affairs Republican Sen. Jim Risch predicted the U.S. would not abandon NATO under the Trump administration – and promised to work with the new president to strengthen it instead.
Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, who leads the powerful Foreign Relations Committee under the new Republican majority, said his number one priority is “getting Trump’s team in place.” He said he is “cautiously optimistic” that they can get Marco Rubio, Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, confirmed by Inauguration Day.
Speaking with Fox News Digital one day after meeting with Trump, the chairman said he believes that Trump’s national security apparatus is going to be less frenzied this time around.
“Anybody you talk to will tell you it’s really different this time,” he said. “It’s gonna be a lot better.”
He said Trump discussed foreign policy priorities while meeting with senators on Wednesday, but declined to share details.
Risch seems to pay little heed to Trump’s threats to pull the U.S. out of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
“I think everyone’s recognized now with what Russia’s done, that the original founders of NATO were very right that we have to stand up and come together,” he said. “I don’t think anybody would have the idea that we should leave NATO.”
“We had a vote here in the Congress on whether or not we should leave NATO,” he went on. “Overwhelmingly, that vote passed.”
RUSSIA MONITORING TRUMP’S ‘DRAMATIC’ COMMENTS ON GREENLAND ACQUISITION
In December 2023, Congress passed legislation as part of the NDAA that barred any president from removing the U.S. from NATO without approval from two-thirds of the Senate or an act of Congress. That provision was spearheaded by Rubio.
Risch said that after Trump’s first term and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, nations “very slowly” began to boost their military budgets. Canada is not on track to hit the 2% target until 2032.
But now, 23 out of 32 NATO states meet the 2% target, which…
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