Despite taking over NATO at a precarious moment, Mark Rutte will have a clean slate when it comes to American politicians.
Members of Congress, including those with heavy foreign policy workloads, claim they have not heard from the incoming NATO secretary general and that many of them are completely unfamiliar with him. Since U.S. lawmakers are responsible for allocating funds and military aid internationally, Rutte, who was officially chosen as the alliance’s next chief on Wednesday, will have a lot of work ahead of her to build ties with them.
Democrats who are familiar with the current prime minister of the Netherlands spoke highly of him, praising his qualities while simultaneously acknowledging the possibility of tension, especially in the event that former president Donald Trump is re-elected. The fact that U.S. politicians have not yet received direct outreach from Rutte may be due to the fact that current NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is still holding the position until October 1.
The president of the NATO parliamentary assembly, Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), told AWN that Congressman McCuin is “well-prepared to handle ours as well” because of his experience navigating European politics.
Rutte was described by Connolly and a bipartisan U.S. group as “smart, accomplished, politically skilled, very affable, easy to relate to… ” during their meeting last summer. It seems like everyone on our delegation liked him.
The Republicans were more reserved, showing that they were eager to collaborate with Rutte without explicitly endorsing him. Despite Rutte’s reputation as a quiet, consensus-building leader, he has met with Trump head-on on more than one occasion, most notably following Trump’s threats to withdraw the United States from NATO. With Trump as president, these dangers could escalate, and NATO is already facing serious challenges from the rise of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“NATO is in place because people like Putin exist,” Rep. Jack Bergman (R-Michigan), another member of the NATO parliamentary assembly, remarked. Everybody needs to do their part. Each nation has its own unique set of strengths and weaknesses. The most important thing for all of our NATO member states to do, regardless of their resources (human or otherwise), is to commit.
In light of NATO’s efforts to protect itself from potential assaults by Trump, the prime minister’s track record in forming intricate coalitions makes Rutte an ideal candidate to lead the organization, as stated by Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.).
According to Crow, another member of the parliamentary assembly, “He’s widely respected, has a lot of support within NATO, which of course gets him off on a good start” in a casual conversation. General Stoltenberg performed an outstanding job as secretary. I believe Mr. Rutte is capable of handling the responsibilities that come with the position.
As the leader of the United States delegation to the NATO parliamentary assembly, House Intelligence Committee Chair Mike Turner (R-Ohio) offered “sincere congratulations” to Rutte on Wednesday and expressed his anticipation of “strengthening the Alliance and bolstering our collective defense capabilities.”
The conservative camp has declared itself unconcerned with Rutte’s rise to power, but has warned that Trump, upon his return, may have a same attitude toward the partnership.
“I would expect President Trump to continue to support NATO if he was reelected, but press Europe to do its fair share in NATO,” Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) stated in a brief interview.
President Trump will understandably be wary of becoming involved in international intrigue, in my opinion. The Texas Republican went on to say that the Biden administration’s eagerness to engage in overseas adventurism was one of its faults.
Inquiries regarding Rutte’s potential outreach went unanswered by the offices of Foreign Relations Committee leaders Sens. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Jim Risch (R-Idaho). Reps. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) and Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), who head the House Foreign Affairs Committee, both claimed to be familiar with Rutte. However, Meeks claimed that he had not heard from Rutte since he was chosen to head the alliance.
The most important thing, according to Meeks, is for the NATO states to talk to each other and make sure they’re all pulling their weight. Every single member, Democrat and Republican alike, will benefit from that, in my opinion, if he does it.
