Just in time for Independence Day, U.S. Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) has introduced legislation to Get US Out! of an entangling alliance that threatens national sovereignty.
On Wednesday, Lee introduced S. 2174, the Not A Trusted Organization (NATO) Act, which would withdraw the United States from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Additionally, the bill would prohibit the U.S. government from directly or indirectly funding NATO.
In a press release announcing the bill, Lee stated:
America’s withdrawal from NATO is long overdue. NATO has run its course — the threats that existed at its inception are no longer relevant 76 years later. If they were, Europe would be paying their fair share instead of making American taxpayers pick up the check for decades. My legislation will put America first by withdrawing us from the raw deal NATO has become.
In December 2023, Congress passed — and President Joe Biden signed into law — the fiscal 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, which contained a provision prohibiting the president from withdrawing from NATO without congressional approval. S. 2174 complies with this statutory requirement.
S. 2174 is only the latest bill to withdraw the United States from globalist entanglements. In February, Lee and Representative Chip Roy (R-Texas) introduced the Disengaging Entirely From the United Nations Debacle (DEFUND) Act of 2025 (H.R. 1498 and S. 669), to fully withdraw the United States from the UN. In April, Representative Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.) introduced H. J. Res. 93 to withdraw the United States from the World Trade Organization. And Representative Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) has introduced H.R. 54, the WHO Withdrawal Act, to permanently take the United States out of the World Health Organization. Meanwhile, multiple states have introduced and enacted legislation pushing back against UN-connected policies.
Lee’s bill comes as a growing number of congressmen are voicing opposition to NATO and other international organizations. For example, on March 3, Representative Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) called for U.S. withdrawal from NATO, writing on X, “NATO and the UN push a globalist agenda that is America Last.” Representative Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) concurred, writing the previous day, “NATO is a Cold War relic that needs to be relegated to a talking kiosk at the Smithsonian.” Lee, for his part, also previously called for getting out of NATO.
President Donald Trump, however, does not appear to be joining these calls. On Wednesday, speaking in The Hague at the annual NATO summit, he declared, “I stand with [Article V of the North Atlantic Treaty]. That’s why I’m here. If I didn’t stand with it, I wouldn’t be here.”
In addition to its propensity to entangle the United States in foreign conflict — ignoring the wisdom of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson — NATO is a subsidiary of, and fully subservient to, the United Nations.
The United States currently contributes nearly 16 percent of the NATO budget — the largest share of any NATO country — meaning that American taxpayers foot a large chunk of the bill for Europe’s defense.
Rather than compromising national sovereignty and prioritizing other nations’ interests over our own, Congress must heed George Washington’s advice, given in his 1796 Farewell Address:
The great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign Nations is in extending our commercial relations to have with them as little political connection as possible.
Additionally, Americans must work to educate their fellow citizens about the dangers of NATO membership, and pressure their elected officials to Get US Out!
To urge your U.S. representative and senators to Get US Out! of NATO, visit The John Birch Society’s legislative alert here.