Shaheen Helps Kick Off NATO Summit at British Ambassador’s Residence
(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a senior member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations, Appropriations and Armed Services Committees and co-chair of the bipartisan U.S. Senate NATO Observer Group, delivered remarks at the British Ambassador’s residence last night to welcome foreign leaders and heads of state to Washington, D.C., for the annual NATO Summit. This year’s Summit recognizes the Alliance’s 75th anniversary. At the event, hosted by the Atlantic Council and the British Embassy, Shaheen praised the Alliance for being stronger than ever in the face of efforts to destabilize democracies across the globe. Shaheen thanked U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) for co-chairing the U.S. Senate NATO Observer Group and sharing the commitment to preserve and strengthen the Alliance. Click here to view photos from the event.
“Since re-establishing the NATO Observer Group in 2018, I have been proud to join with Senator Tillis to renew our steadfast support for NATO, work to successfully shepherd three new countries into the Alliance and encourage increased defense spending from NATO Allies,” said Shaheen. “In the years to come, I look forward to continuing our work to sustain our unshakeable unity amongst our allies, expand and strengthen the Alliance and welcome Ukraine as our 33rd NATO Ally.”
Joining Senators Shaheen and Tillis were Ambassador Karen Pierce, the UK Defense Secretary John Healey, Atlantic Council CEO Fred Kempe and others.
As co-chairs of the U.S. Senate NATO Observer Group, which they re-started together in 2018, Shaheen and Tillis led bipartisan efforts in the Senate in support of the transatlantic Alliance. Last month, the Senators penned an op-ed calling for a recommitment to strengthening NATO on the 80th Anniversary of D-day. In April, the Senators sent a bipartisan letter to President Biden outlining key objectives and priorities for the NATO Summit, which is taking place this week in Washington, D.C. The Senators have pushed Allies to reach the two percent defense spending target that was agreed to by NATO and have been outspoken in their support to grow the Alliance, recently applauding ratification by Türkiye’s Parliament of Sweden’s NATO accession protocols and leading a resolution criticizing Hungary’s previous delay in ratifying Sweden’s accession.
As Chair of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee that oversees U.S. policy towards Europe, Shaheen is a leading policymaker on efforts in defense of democracies around the globe amid Putin’s efforts to destabilize the continent. Last year, Shaheen reintroduced her bipartisan legislation that would direct the administration to develop a strategy toward the Black Sea region, which has increasingly become a critical inflection point for European and global security amid Putin’s war in Ukraine. Earlier this year, Shaheen introduced a bill that would hold Georgian government officials and individuals responsible for corruption, human rights abuses and efforts to advance the foreign agents law or facilitate its passage. The Committee-passed National Defense Authorization Act for FY2025 includes a provision led by Shaheen that would require the Secretary of Defense to review U.S. security cooperation with Georgia in light of its foreign agents law, as well as provide additional flexibility to provide security assistance to Ukraine.
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