Rubio Arrives for NATO Talks as Allies Wait to Learn of US Plans for a Likely Drawdown in Europe

US' Secretary of State Marco Rubio steps off the plane as they arrive for a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on April 3, 2025. (Photo by Jacquelyn Martin / POOL / AFP)
US' Secretary of State Marco Rubio steps off the plane as they arrive for a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on April 3, 2025. (Photo by Jacquelyn Martin / POOL / AFP)
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Rubio Arrives for NATO Talks as Allies Wait to Learn of US Plans for a Likely Drawdown in Europe

US' Secretary of State Marco Rubio steps off the plane as they arrive for a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on April 3, 2025. (Photo by Jacquelyn Martin / POOL / AFP)
US' Secretary of State Marco Rubio steps off the plane as they arrive for a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on April 3, 2025. (Photo by Jacquelyn Martin / POOL / AFP)

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Trump administration’s new envoy to NATO arrived Thursday in Brussels, where the alliance’s top diplomats are hoping they’ll shed light on US security plans in Europe.

European allies and Canada are deeply concerned by President Donald Trump’s readiness to draw closer to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who sees NATO as a threat, as the US works to broker a ceasefire in Ukraine, The Associated Press said.

Recent White House comments and insults directed at NATO allies Canada and Denmark — as well as the military alliance itself — have raised alarm and confusion, especially with new US tariffs targeting US friends and foes alike.

Since Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned last month that US security priorities lie elsewhere — in Asia and on the US's own borders — the Europeans have waited to learn how big a military drawdown in Europe could be and how fast it may happen.

In Europe and Canada, governments are working on “burden shifting” plans to take over more of the load, while trying to ensure that no security vacuum is created if US troops and equipment are withdrawn from the continent.

These allies are keen to hear from Rubio what the Trump administration’s intentions are and hope to secure some kind of roadmap that lays out what will happen next and when, so they can synchronize planning and use European forces to plug any gaps.

In a statement, newly confirmed US ambassador to NATO Matt Whitaker said that “under President Trump’s leadership, NATO will be stronger and more effective than ever before, and I believe that a robust NATO can continue to serve as a bedrock of peace and prosperity.”

But he added: “NATO’s vitality rests on every ally doing their fair share.”

Whitaker affirmed the US commitment to NATO’s collective security guarantee, which says that an attack on any ally must be considered an attack on them all, but that his brief would also be to encourage Europe to lead on “peace, security, and the rebuilding of Ukraine.”

The statement said allies should demonstrate that NATO takes seriously threats from China.



US Senate Report Faults Secret Service Discipline after Trump Shooting

FILE - Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by US Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. President-elect Donald Trump will choose Sean Curran, right, as Secret Service Director.  (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
FILE - Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by US Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. President-elect Donald Trump will choose Sean Curran, right, as Secret Service Director. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
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US Senate Report Faults Secret Service Discipline after Trump Shooting

FILE - Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by US Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. President-elect Donald Trump will choose Sean Curran, right, as Secret Service Director.  (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
FILE - Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by US Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. President-elect Donald Trump will choose Sean Curran, right, as Secret Service Director. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

A US Senate report released on Sunday said a "cascade" of failures allowed a gunman to shoot at Donald Trump during a campaign rally last year and faulted Secret Service discipline including the lack of firings in the wake of the attack.

The report, released a year after a 20-year-old gunman opened fire on Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, grazing his ear, accused the Secret Service of a pattern of negligence and communications breakdowns in planning and execution of the rally, said Reuters.

"This was not a single error. It was a cascade of preventable failures that nearly cost President Trump his life," the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee report said. The Secret Service is charged with protecting current and former presidents and their families, as well visiting foreign leaders and some other senior officials.

One attendee of the July 13, 2024, rally was killed and two others were injured in the shooting. The gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was subsequently shot to death by Secret Service agents.

"This was not a single lapse in judgment. It was a complete breakdown of security at every level — fueled by bureaucratic indifference, a lack of clear protocols, and a shocking refusal to act on direct threats," the committee's Republican chairman, Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, said in a statement.

Kimberly Cheatle resigned as the director of the Secret Service 10 days after the shooting, amid harsh scrutiny of the agency's role, and six Secret Service agents on duty during the attempt received suspensions ranging from 10 to 42 days, the agency said on Thursday.

The committee said more than six officials should have been punished, and that two of those who were disciplined received lighter punishments than it had recommended. It highlighted the fact that no one was fired.

Current Secret Service Director Sean Curran said in a statement that the agency has received the report and will continue to cooperate with the committee.

"Following the events of July 13, the Secret Service took a serious look at our operations and implemented substantive reforms to address the failures that occurred that day," Curran said.