Washington, D.C
To stay relevant and maintain support, NATO needs to get outside of Washington, DC
As the campaign between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump approaches the finish line, transatlanticists are growing more anxious about what the next four years could bring for US engagement in the world’s strongest military alliance. Either would-be president will face a litany of global challenges outside the Euro-Atlantic security environment. While a large majority of Americans still view NATO as essential to US security, it is incumbent upon leaders and policymakers to articulate the Alliance’s continued relevance in an era of emerging great-power competition. This requires the Alliance to effectively engage with local communities and communicate NATO’s successes where most Americans live—outside of the US capital.
To this end, the Atlantic Council, in partnership with NATO Allied Command Transformation, hosted a series of conferences across the United States to hear from voices outside the DC bubble. So far, we have engaged with students, local officials, industry partners, interested community members, and other relevant stakeholders in Austin, Texas, and Seattle, Washington, with additional cities to follow. While these conversations were certainly not representative of all perspectives across the United States, the discussions provided useful insights into how the Alliance’s supporters can more effectively communicate the enduring value that NATO provides to Americans.
Anti-NATO sentiments are overhyped—don’t play into them
The people my colleagues and I spoke with in Texas and Washington instinctively recognized the importance of strong alliances and partnerships, understanding that having friend in the fight is better than going it alone. Participants spoke passionately about the importance of US-European ties—citing the United States’ historical role in transatlantic defense instilled in the American consciousness during both world wars.
During these conversations, some participants offered nuanced perspectives on important issues, such as how NATO should redistribute the defense burden in an era of strategic competition. However, in these sessions, the participants always offered criticism in good faith, with the aim of strengthening the Alliance. The nature of these responses indicates that anti-NATO sentiments are more a feature of partisanship in Washington, DC, than a prevailing belief among the American populace. Although political rhetoric criticizing the Alliance presents genuine challenges for NATO, the notion that Americans are indifferent to supporting European allies is not borne out by the data or these discussions with citizens in Texas and Washington.
Transatlantic security ranks lower among citizens’ priorities—articulate a better strategy
As concerns over global and domestic challenges mount, participants in our sessions often ranked transatlantic security as lower on a growing list of priorities. As the conversations inevitably turned to Ukraine, participants recognized that Russia’s violations of the rules-based international order disrupt global security and jeopardize US interests.
In Austin, where the southern border is not far off, and in Seattle, with a port facing the Pacific, transatlantic security was not necessarily top of mind. Participants expressed concerns, following decades of wars in the Middle East and a chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, that US grand strategy is aimless and reactive.
Americans are increasingly looking for a sober assessment of the international security environment and a strategy with coherent priorities and clear-eyed plans for how to achieve them. NATO must articulate the vital role it plays as part of the broader US global strategy—or else risk ceding ground to other US priorities on the global stage.
NATO is more of a concept in these communities—make it hit closer to home
The role that local communities play in transatlantic security strongly resonated with the participants of these discussions. Texas is a leader in defense industrial production. Washington state is on the cutting edge of defense innovation and home to a major US Navy presence.
These ties are tangible. And they highlight how a seemingly far-away institution plays a direct role in the lives of individuals in these communities. More importantly, they reveal how Americans contribute to their own security and that of their allies. To reinforce its relevance, NATO should promote these direct ties wherever possible to ensure that people across the country are aware of how their communities interact with the world’s strongest military alliance.
Burden-sharing looms large—confront it head-on
There is a prevailing belief that the United States disproportionately bears the responsibility for European security. This should not come as a surprise to any ally. However, as a bloc, European allies do meet their 2 percent of gross domestic product defense spending commitment to NATO, though individual allies may fall short.
To counter this belief, European officials should engage with Americans across the United States on the issue of burden-sharing. Having these conversations directly with citizens outside of Washington, DC, is a powerful way to better contextualize European contributions to NATO.
The next generation of transatlanticists are coming into their own—capitalize on it
In both Austin and Seattle, our team met with extraordinarily engaged and forward-thinking students and professionals eager to make their mark on international security. From protesting conflict in the Middle East to starting their own university think tanks, these next-generation voices not only challenge the status quo, they also encourage new ways of thinking about emerging issues such as climate, cyber, space, and technological innovation.
As the next generation enters the ranks of officials across the Alliance, it will bring a transformative shift in how NATO prioritizes climate considerations and other emerging challenges. Transatlantic policymakers would be wise to integrate the voices of the next generation into current policy discussions to future-proof the Alliance.
Climate change takes center stage for students—don’t relegate it to second fiddle
While students recognize the growing geopolitical instabilities amid the Russian war in Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East, climate change was top of mind for many, as students in both cities ranked it as the single biggest challenge to international security. Compounding climate risks will drastically impact the Alliance, and as a threat multiplier, it will spur other security concerns, such as mass displacement. Students and younger participants in these discussions are well aware of this.
In recent years, NATO has made promising strides on climate change, and it must effectively communicate its ongoing initiatives to make NATO more climate resilient. But more than that, the Alliance should listen to the growing concerns from the next generation on climate change and its impacts on international security more broadly.
Too often, debates on international policy and transatlantic relations are relegated to conference rooms in Washington, DC, without a clear understanding of the diverse and innovative views across the United States. As the American public weathers a moment of intense political division, it is vital for NATO and its supporters to establish a touchpoint with communities across the United States to understand how citizens view the world around them and their perspectives on the Alliance tasked with protecting them.
Kristen Taylor is a program assistant with the Transatlantic Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security.
Further reading
Image: Participants of the NATO-Ukraine Council during the 75th NATO Summit in the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC, on July 11, 2024. (Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto)
Washington, D.C
The director of the Congressional Budget Office—known for its gloomy national debt data—is very optimistic that a crisis will be avoided entirely | Fortune
Dr Phillip Swagel is an optimist, both by nature and when he looks at the U.S. economy.
This fact is perhaps at odds with what one might assume: Swagel is the director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the nonpartisan agency that offers independent budgetary and economic analysis to Congress.
Very often—an inevitable occupational hazard—the subject of national debt and the interest the U.S. Treasury pays to maintain is its central focus. The numbers are eye-watering: Public debt stands at more than $39 trillion. The interest expense on that borrowing now exceeds $1 trillion a year. Indeed, the latest budget update from the CBO highlights that the government—according to preliminary estimates—paid out nearly $530 billion between October 2025, when the fiscal year starts, and March 2026. This equates to more than $88 billion in interest payments a month, or more than $22 billion a week.
The CBO’s figures are routinely cited by policymakers, think tanks, and lobbyists as alarming evidence that the U.S. needs to find a more sustainable fiscal path or risk dire straits.
Swagel doesn’t subscribe to the notion that the U.S. will face a crisis of its own making. His justification is simple: He was at the Treasury during the 2008 financial crisis, and joined the CBO months before the COVID pandemic began. He has watched as the U.S. economy, seemingly against all odds, has clawed its way out of economic crises before.
That’s not to say Swagel isn’t a staunch advocate of setting the U.S. on a more sustainable fiscal path—rather, he trusts the people in power to do so when the time comes.
Why the optimism?
Among those concerned about national debt are notable names: JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, and Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio. Tesla CEO Elon Musk is also worried about federal spending and has endorsed a plan floated by Berkshire Hathaway founder Warren Buffett that would render members of Congress ineligible for reelection if they allow deficits to exceed 3% of GDP.
On the other hand, optimistic economists suggest that, despite the value of the debt, it’s not actually an issue: the bond market is holding steady, indicating a reliable market of buyers. Likewise, the U.S.’s own central bank buys huge swaths of the debt, meaning, in the simplest of layman’s terms, the economy can essentially print its own money. There are holes in this argument, not least the fact that Fed chairman nominee Kevin Warsh has suggested he would like to reduce the Fed’s balance sheet and may therefore be less inclined to finance borrowing.
Swagel’s positive outlook doesn’t rely on the argument that a crisis hasn’t happened yet, so therefore it never will: “[My optimism] is rooted in my experience,” Swagel tells Fortune in an exclusive interview in Washington D.C. “First being at Treasury during the financial crisis and seeing very difficult times and the country coming together with an effective response—not saying it’s perfect, lots of controversy—but it was effective.”
“The second thing is policymakers are smart, they’re thoughtful. Interacting with members of Congress makes me optimistic. I know you read about all the squabbles … I’m completely aware of this, but the policymakers that are thinking about these things are thoughtful and effective. Not necessarily always effective at passing legislation, but that’s part of our political system, it was set up to make it difficult ot pass legislation.”
Decisions on the horizon
Swagel’s optimism that Congress will be pushed into action will be tested sooner rather than later, likely at some point in the next six years, he told Fortune. This is partly due to the fact that, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) both Social Security and Medicare will become insolvent within that time period.
“Making progress to address the fiscal trajectory would be a positive for the U.S. economy,” Swagel said. “Credible steps would lead to lower interest rates that would make the subsequent adjustment easier, there is a reward to virtue. It’s a positive thing, we can’t go on [with] the scolding narrative. My sense is that members of Congress understand the fiscal situation, it’s not that everyone single one has looked at our one-pager of numbers and understands the debt to the third decimal point, but they understand something needs to be done.”
“It doesn’t have to be done immediately, but at some point reasonably soon.”
Swagel is of the opinion that bond investors haven’t increased risk premiums not because they’re not worried about a fiscal crisis, but because they have priced in preventative action from Congress—in his mind “a vote of confidence that my optimism is not misplaced.”
“As a country, we face up to these problems. It’s not happening now, I’m not sure it’s going to happen in the rest of this year or even the next year, or the next two years. But we will face up to it, and the market in some sense expects us to, because otherwise interest rates would be higher,” he explained.
The Cheesecake Factory
The role of the CBO, to some extent, is to provide policymakers with their options if and when they do choose to take action on federal deficits. It’s a menu not unlike the Cheesecake Factory, Swagel says: Large, inclusive of a range of modifications and options, and delivered without judgement.
“Right now it’s maybe a pick three, and you’re looking at a six or seven course menu,” joked Caleb Quakenbush, director of fiscal policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center, in an interview with Fortune. “The longer you delay, the more you’re gonna have to add to your tab, and those options become more expensive.”
Indeed, economists and analysts aren’t necessarily worried about the absolute level of government debt, rather the debt-to-GDP ratio. Depending on whom you ask, the debt-to-GDP ratio stands at around 122% of GDP at present. This measure demonstrates an economy’s spending versus its growth, and the risk associated with lending to a nation that isn’t growing fast enough to handle its spending. To rebalance that ratio, an economy could either cut spending or increase growth—the latter being by far the less painful option.
The growth option is becoming less feasible, Michael Peterson, CEO of fiscal think tank the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, told Fortune in an exclusive interview: “I think it requires government action because we’ve waited so long. We’ve added so many trillions, and the current deficit is so big at 6% that the level of growth you would need really exceeds what is feasible.
“Growth needs to be a part of it, but it’s sort of a vicious cycle. The longer we delay, the more debt we have, the slower growth is going to be. The more we get this under control, I think the greater optimism there is, interest rates go down, more growth comes from that. It’s sort of a virtuous or vicious cycle depending on your policy response.”
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – Seventy-two veterans took a trip Saturday to our nation’s capital to visit memorials honoring their service in the armed forces.
This year marks the 12th trip to Washington, D.C. for Honor Flight Tallahassee.
Early Saturday morning, veterans and their guardians met to take a charter flight up to D.C.
Throughout the day, veterans were taken to the World War II memorial, as well as the Korean and Vietnam War memorials. The veterans also visited Arlington National Cemetery and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
More Tallahassee news:
The day ended with a wonderful welcome home celebration.
Our Jacob Murphey, Julia Miller, Taylor Viles, and Grace Temple accompanied the veterans, capturing moments from throughout the day.
The team will have live coverage from Washington, D.C. on Monday to share more from the day’s events.
We will continue to have coverage throughout the month of May, leading up to our Honor Flight special on Memorial Day.
To keep up with the latest news as it develops, follow WCTV on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Nextdoor and X (Twitter).
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4 things to know about the weather:
- Chances of rain in the morning
- Gusty Sunday
- Chilly Monday
- Temps will rise again through the work week
Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to check the weather radar on the go.
After a nice and warm Saturday, changes arrive for part two of the weekend.
The first half of your Sunday will have a chance for showers. Winds will pick up with our next system and are expected to gust to about 20-30 mph. Cooler air will settle in, and lows Sunday night fall into the 40s.
Highs temps Monday will reach only into the mid to upper 50s.
However, temperatures will rise through the week, so you won’t need your jackets every day.
QuickCast
SUNDAY:
Showers, then partly cloudy
Wind: NW 10-15 mph
Gusts @ 30 mph
HIGH: Lower 60s
MONDAY:
Partly cloudy
Wind: NW 10-15 mph
Gusts @ 25 mph
HIGH: Upper 50s
Stay with Storm Team4 for the latest forecast. Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to get severe weather alerts on your phone.
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