President-elect Trump faces two major challenges in his NATO and European foreign policy: developing a modern strategy for the alliance and securing enough support on Capitol Hill for his proposals.

His previous controversial plans to modernize the alliance laid the groundwork for much-needed reforms that will strengthen NATO's capabilities and burden-sharing.

During his first term, Trump pushed NATO members to increase defense spending to meet the agreed-upon target of 2 percent of GDP. This pressure yielded results, with NATO reporting that European allies and Canada had added $130 billion in new defense spending by 2020. But burden-sharing remains uneven with the U.S. still shouldering 66 percent of the alliance’s $1.3 trillion defense expenditure.

Trump's plan to relocate thousands of U.S. troops from Germany to Poland highlighted the need to realign NATO's force posture. Although President Biden cancelled the move upon taking office, Trump aimed to position forces closer to potential hotspots in Eastern Europe while incentivizing Germany to boost its own defense capabilities.

While he may face challenges in fully withdrawing from NATO due to legislative........

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