McClintock Opposes House NATO Resolution
Washington, DC — A bill passed in the US House of Representatives, 357-22, to reiterate support for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), was opposed by Congressman Tom McClintock.
The resolution was introduced in Congress this week amid media reports that President Donald Trump had periodically discussed the idea of withdrawing from NATO with members of his administration. The House resolution is designed to send a message that Congress is against any type of exit. As Congress has the “power of the purse,” it would prohibit the use of federal funding to cover any of the expenses related to withdrawing from NATO.
The Mother Lode Republican, McClintock, explained his reasoning for opposing the resolution, by stating, “This act prohibits U.S. withdrawal from NATO and commits perpetual American support. While I support NATO and our continued presence in it, this bill is unnecessary and appears deliberately aimed at undercutting the President’s efforts to get NATO countries to pay their fair share for its support. NATO was formed to provide security against the now-defunct Soviet Union; not to relieve individual European nations from their responsibility to maintain their own defenses at America’s expense.”
President Trump has recently called for other NATO countries to increase their defense spending.
