As President Donald Trump was departing from the NATO summit Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Mike Lee introduced a new bill that would require the United States to withdraw from the post-WWII international military alliance.
The bill, which Lee named the “Not A Trusted Organization (NATO) Act,” would require the president to provide notice of the United States’ withdrawal from the treaty and prohibit the use of U.S. funds from going to NATO budgets.
In a statement, Lee said the departure from NATO is “long overdue.”
“NATO has run its course — the threats that existed at its inception are no longer relevant 76 years later,” the statement read. “If they were, Europe would be paying their fair share instead of making American taxpayers pick up the check for decades. My legislation will put America first by withdrawing us from the raw deal NATO has become.”
Although Trump has had, at times, a contentious relationship with NATO, he reportedly assured fellow members at the summit that he supports the treaty and is not looking to withdraw from the alliance.
“I stand with it. That’s why I’m here,” Trump said Wednesday, according to The Associated Press. “If I didn’t stand with it, I wouldn’t be here.”