Shaheen, Tillis Congratulate Prime Minister Rutte as Next NATO Secretary General

(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Thom Tillis (R-NC), co-chairs of the U.S. Senate NATO Observer Group, released the following statement after Prime Minister Mark Rutte was appointed as the next Secretary General of NATO:

“As co-chairs of the Senate NATO Observer Group, we welcome Mark Rutte as the next Secretary General of NATO,” said the Senators. “With more than a decade of leadership as Prime Minister of the Netherlands, including his work to ensure the Netherlands surpassed the two percent defense spending threshold agreed to by the Alliance, Mr. Rutte is well prepared to lead NATO. With twenty-three Allies now at or above the two percent threshold, the Alliance is stronger and more united than ever before.”

“We look forward to working with Mr. Rutte and with all our NATO Allies to continue support for Ukraine, expand our relationship with Indo-Pacific partners and increase investments in NATO to address Russian aggression and other emerging challenges. We also congratulate and thank Secretary General Stoltenberg for his ten years of steadfast, dedicated service to NATO.”

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. In April, the Senators sent a bipartisan letter to President Biden outlining key objectives and priorities for the upcoming NATO Summit, which will take place in July in Washington, DC. The Senators have pushed Allies to reach the two percent defense spending that was agreed to by NATO. Additionally, the Senators 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.

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