Policy outcomes
How this issue is resolved shapes the rules voters live under.
The issue in plain English
Should the United States remain in NATO?
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, founded in 1949, has grown to 32 members and recently added Finland and Sweden after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Supporters credit the alliance with deterring major-power war in Europe and amplifying U.S. influence, while critics question the cost burden on Washington and whether NATO's expansion has stabilized or inflamed relations with Russia.
Why this matters
What the answer actually changes.
Representation
The arguments reveal who gets a stronger voice when the question is settled.
Trust
Whether the process feels fair influences how voters trust the outcome.
The arguments
Two sides of the debate.
The goal is not to decide for the voter. It is to make the strongest competing views easy to understand.
Supporters say
The case for remaining in NATO
Proponents argue that NATO has helped prevent major-power war in Europe for 75 years and that the alliance multiplies American power by binding 31 other militaries, intelligence services and bases to U.S. strategy. They note that the only Article 5 invocation in history benefited the United States after 9/11, and that allied troops fought alongside Americans in Afghanistan and contribute to operations from the Baltic to the Mediterranean. Supporters also point to rising allied defense budgets — with most members now meeting the 2% target — and the voluntary accession of Finland and Sweden as evidence the alliance is adapting and sharing more of the load. They contend that withdrawing would weaken deterrence against Russia, unsettle global markets, and push allies toward independent nuclear or security arrangements that could complicate U.S. interests.
Critics say
The case for leaving or downgrading membership
Critics argue that European allies have free-ridden on American defense spending for decades, leaving U.S. taxpayers covering an outsized share of the alliance's costs while Europe underinvested in its own militaries. They contend that the 2% target took a Russian invasion to spur compliance and that nine members still fall short, raising questions about whether the burden-sharing problem is durably solved. Some opponents also argue that NATO's eastward expansion since the 1990s has provoked rather than deterred Russia, contributing to confrontations in Georgia and Ukraine. Others say the original Cold War rationale has faded, that Europe is wealthy enough to defend itself, and that Article 5 could draw the United States into wars over distant borders with limited bearing on core American security.
Key facts
Numbers behind the question.
32
NATO member states as of 2024
NATO
23 of 32
Members meeting the 2% of GDP defense spending target in 2024
NATO 2024 annual report
1
Times Article 5 has been invoked — by the U.S. after 9/11
NATO
~67%–71%
Estimated U.S. share of combined NATO defense spending
Range of public estimates
Context
How NATO works and what has changed
NATO is a mutual-defense alliance built around Article 5, which treats an attack on one member as an attack on all. That clause has been invoked once in the alliance's history — by the United States after the September 11, 2001 attacks — leading to allied deployments in Afghanistan. The U.S. is by far the largest military contributor; estimates place its share of combined NATO defense spending at roughly 67% to 71%, depending on methodology. In 2014, members pledged to spend at least 2% of GDP on defense. NATO reported that 23 of 32 members met the target in 2024, up from 6 in 2021. After Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Finland and Sweden abandoned long-standing neutrality and joined the alliance in 2023 and 2024 — its first new members in more than a decade.
Evidence
What the numbers show
NATO's own reporting shows a sharp recent increase in allied defense spending: members meeting the 2% target rose from 6 in 2021 to 23 in 2024. At the same time, the U.S. continues to account for an estimated 67%–71% of combined alliance defense outlays, reflecting both the size of the American economy and the scale of the U.S. military footprint. The alliance has also expanded geographically, growing from 12 founding members in 1949 to 32 today, including new members Finland (2023) and Sweden (2024). Polling and congressional votes in recent years have shown broad bipartisan support for NATO, though surveys also indicate growing partisan divides over the value of long-term overseas commitments.
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