Senate NATO Observer Group Co-Chairs – Shaheen & Tillis – Announce Bipartisan Congressional Delegation to NATO Summit in Vilnius
**Shaheen and Tillis have served as co-chairs of the Senate NATO Observer Group since they re-established it in 2018**
(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Thom Tillis (R-NC), co-chairs of the Senate NATO Observer Group, announced this week that they’ll lead a bipartisan congressional delegation to the 2023 NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania next month. Joining Shaheen and Tillis will be Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation Pete Ricketts (R-NE) and U.S. Senators Angus King (I-ME) and Dan Sullivan (R-AK).
“We’re proud to lead this bipartisan group of Senators to send a resounding message to the international community that the United States – across party lines – stands firmly with the Alliance as we confront our shared global security challenges,” said Shaheen and Tillis. “In response to Putin’s further invasion of Ukraine and his barbaric campaign of violence against a sovereign nation and civilian populations, NATO responded with historic unity and strength. To stand by our partners and defend democracy worldwide – from Putin or any adversary who threatens our rules-based order – the Alliance must continue to work in lock-step. We look forward to conveying that message and reaffirming the United States’ commitment to that promise at the 2023 NATO Summit in Vilnius.”
Shaheen and Tillis lead bipartisan efforts in the Senate in support of the transatlantic Alliance, and specifically around Finland and Sweden's accession into NATO. Earlier this month, Shaheen and Tillis co-led a resolution with Senators Durbin and Grassley (R-IA) underscoring the top priorities for the U.S. Senate ahead of the Vilnius Summit, including countering China, responding to Putin's aggression in the Black Sea region and ensuring Sweden's formal accession. Shaheen and Tillis led the U.S. delegation to the NATO Summit in Madrid last year, and previously traveled together to the NATO Summit in Brussels in 2018.
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