Representative Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) doesn’t trust the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). On Tuesday he introduced a bill to get the United States out of NATO. The legislation, which is a companion bill to Senator Mike Lee’s (R-Utah) measure from June and shares the title “Not A Trusted Organization Act,” provides hope for an idea whose time may yet come.
In his bill, Massie cites U.S. Secretary of State James Baker’s assurance in the 1990s that NATO would not expand eastward to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. However, by 2025, NATO had expanded to form a land border with Russia exceeding 1,500 miles and encircling the Baltic Sea.
Russian National Military Doctrines and Security Strategies have consistently framed this expansion as a threat to Russian security. In 2007, President Vladimir Putin described NATO’s eastward movement at the Munich Security Conference as a “serious provocation,” referencing past U.S. assurances. The Russian Federation invaded Ukraine in 2022.
Massie argues that NATO has repeatedly broken its promise of staying in Central and Western Europe over the past three decades. He points to constitutional principles, stating: “Our Constitution did not authorize permanent foreign entanglements,” a warning echoed by George Washington in his farewell address.
The bill also highlights growing authoritarian tendencies in European nations. In England, a woman was arrested for silently praying outside an abortion clinic; the country made nearly 10,000 arrests in 2024 and nearly 14,000 in 2023 for social media posts. France has implemented stringent vaccine passport systems and targeted American podcasters with fines under its Digital Services Act. Germany is working to shut down the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
Massie contends that it makes little sense for the United States—facing $38 trillion in debt—to subsidize European security when those nations increasingly target American companies over free speech and become more authoritarian.