Rep. Rick Larsen (WA-02), a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, issued the following statement in response to a report in The New York Times that President Trump has discussed pulling the United States out of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO):

“U.S. withdrawal from NATO would be a disaster for national security and only serve to help President Putin accomplish his chief foreign policy goal of weakening the alliance. By even having a discussion on withdrawal, President Trump is already undermining the military alliance that has been critical to peace and security since World War II.”

“I stand with my bipartisan colleagues in strong support of NATO and in opposition to President Trump’s continued anti-NATO agenda. NATO is the foundation of U.S.-European security and a massive strategic advantage for the United States. If the president is unable to comprehend these simple facts, it is incumbent on his advisors and Congressional leadership to educate him, before he makes an irreversible mistake.”

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