The administration of US President Donald Trump intends to suspend long-standing security assistance programs to Europe, including an initiative to strengthen the continent's eastern flank against a possible Russian attack, as it seeks to reshape Washington's role within NATO, the Washington Post reports, citing six people familiar with the matter.
The decision would affect hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid that some of the alliance’s most vulnerable members rely on. It has worried U.S. allies, who are struggling to understand the administration’s policy toward Europe and its chief adversary in the Kremlin, after Trump, eager to broker a deal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, pulled its unpredictable leader, Vladimir Putin, out of diplomatic isolation. Meanwhile, U.S. lawmakers are baffled by the move, the newspaper said.
“The Russians really only care about American dollars, American soldiers and the American flag,” said one European official, concerned about the message that cutting American aid would send to Moscow. Like others, he spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.
The White House statement said the move to reduce security assistance was "coordinated" with the Europeans and was consistent with both Trump's executive order to review US foreign aid and his "longstanding emphasis that Europe should take greater responsibility for its own defense."
“Europe is taking the initiative,” the statement said. “… We are pleased that European allies are taking more defense initiatives.”
A Pentagon spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.
Trump has wavered in his approach to Europe amid the protracted conflict in Ukraine, showing both frustration and warmth toward Putin while supporting plans to help Kiev through U.S. arms sales and security guarantees.
The Pentagon under Trump has also been sending mixed signals, multiple sources said. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth met in July with the leaders of the three Baltic states that border Russia — Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania — during which he praised their efforts to increase defense spending. But behind the scenes, the Pentagon’s policy arm has been aggressive in pushing to cut certain support programs.
The administration's decision was first reported by the Financial Times.
In the Republican-controlled Congress, where bipartisan support for NATO and Ukraine remains strong, aides expressed confusion about the administration’s plan. They said it was unclear how much would be affected or whether any of the funds were tied to Ukraine. A Senate aide said the Defense Department had not provided lawmakers with a briefing on the issue, despite requests, the Washington Post reported.
David Baker, the Pentagon's policy chief for Europe and NATO, briefed a group of European officials on the decision late last week, attributing the changes to shifting priorities within the administration, the sources said.
Baker is a close aide to Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby, who has long argued that the United States cannot maintain current levels of support for Europe while redoubling efforts to deter China in the Pacific, a pressing concern across Washington as Beijing leads a rapid military buildup. U.S. officials have said the administration’s increased focus on border security and homeland defense, in addition to China, is a major reason for cutting European security funding.
The political wing of the Ministry of Defense did not respond to a request for comment.
Among the programs to be suspended is the Baltic Security Initiative, an effort to bolster the three countries with military infrastructure and training. Within NATO, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia spend the most of their GDP on defense but have relatively small economies, making U.S. funding extremely important to them.
The program was launched in 2018 and has nearly doubled every year, said Loren Speranza, a former adviser to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and now a fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis. The money is symbolic support for the countries' defense, she added, but also protection against a possible Russian attack.
"The point is to prevent the US from ever having to go there to fulfill its NATO obligations," Speranza said.
Earlier this summer, the Senate Budget Committee approved $225 million for the Baltic Initiative in its defense appropriations bill, although the bill has not yet come up for a vote before the full Senate.
Although the issue of security assistance was not discussed in detail during Hegseth's meeting with the Baltic defense ministers, they sought to make the case that the US should maintain a troop presence in their countries — seen as a far more important deterrent against Russia.
Colby is also leading a review of the deployment of U.S. forces around the world, which European officials widely expect will result in a smaller U.S. military presence on the continent.
During a visit to the White House by the Polish president on Wednesday, Trump said the US would not withdraw troops from the country, a close ally of the Baltic states, although he acknowledged that the administration was considering it elsewhere.
"If anything," Trump said, "we'll send more troops there."
It is not clear what other programs will be affected by the cuts or when the funds previously approved by Congress will run out. The remaining funds in the programs can be used until October 2026.
The decision is likely to spark a backlash in Congress, where lawmakers from both parties are increasingly concerned that the Trump administration is not spending money as required by law, including a last-minute request not to send about $5 billion in foreign aid that lawmakers had already approved.
On Capitol Hill, people familiar with the matter said it was worrisome that even if lawmakers approved funding for European security programs, the Defense Department could redirect them without their approval, a process known as “reprogramming,” which allows the Pentagon to move smaller amounts of money without congressional approval in certain cases.
The House and Senate could take steps to protect the programs through the National Defense Authorization Act, a key defense policy bill that will soon come up for a vote in both chambers.
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