Daniel Zimmerman, left, the assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, and Air Force Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, head of U.S. European Command, testify during a House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday, March 18, 2026, in Washington. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes)
WASHINGTON — Members of the House Armed Services Committee reproached the Trump administration Wednesday for its rhetoric toward NATO allies who have declined U.S. requests to take an active role in the war against Iran, describing the tone as damaging to longstanding partnerships.
The criticism, from Democrats and Republicans, came after Trump lashed out at NATO countries and others in recent days for rebuffing his calls for help opening the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane for oil that Iran has made effectively impassable after the U.S. and Israel launched a war against Tehran.
Trump has warned that NATO allies faced a “very bad future” if they did not help secure the waterway, fumed that they were “making a very foolish mistake,” complained that “we helped them, but they didn’t help us” and on Tuesday wrote that the U.S. was the most powerful country in the world and did “not need the help of anyone!”
He also called out European leaders, saying “Keir is no Churchill” after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the Iran war was never envisioned as a NATO mission and remarking “he’ll be out of office very soon” when asked about French President Emmanuel Macron’s refusal to join a task force to reopen the strait.
Such language, coupled with the Trump administration’s treatment of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and earlier threats to make Canada the 51st state and take away Greenland from Denmark, has caused “grave damage” to the alliance, said Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb.
“I’ve been very supportive of the president on Iran and I think getting rid of Maduro is a good thing but I’ve been appalled by this administration’s tone, rhetoric, tactic, strategy,” he said, referring to the Venezuelan leader captured by the U.S. in January. “When it comes to Europe, the denigrating of our allies has been terrible.”
Rep. Scott DesJarlais, R-Tenn., praised Trump for pressuring NATO countries to step up their defense spending but said he believes “maybe we backslid a little bit in terms of relationships” because of how Trump has “talked about and talked to and talked down to” world leaders.
“Tone matters,” he said. “I don’t profess to tell the president how to talk or how to interact, but I do think it’s important that we maintain strong relationships.”
Their concerns, voiced during a committee hearing on the U.S. military posture in Europe, were echoed by scores of Democrats. Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, the panel’s ranking member, said Trump has made clear that he has “nothing but contempt” for NATO partners.
“The rhetoric has to change,” Smith said. “We have to make it clear that we support this alliance, or, I guess, we have to decide we don’t and walk away from it.”
Trump on Tuesday said leaving NATO is “certainly something we should think about” and said he did not need congressional approval for such a decision. A law passed in 2023 requires the approval of two-thirds of the Senate for the U.S. to withdraw from the alliance, though legal experts say Trump could try to bypass it.
Daniel Zimmerman, the assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, told lawmakers Wednesday that the U.S. remained committed to NATO and said Trump wants to see the alliance “be the best version” of itself and for member countries to “carry their share of the load.”
But that defense rang hollow for some lawmakers. Rep. Donald Norcross, D-N.J., said if he or Zimmerman spoke to their wives the way Trump speaks about U.S. allies “we probably wouldn’t be married.”
Some European countries have bristled at the tone from Washington. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Monday that he hoped “we will treat one another with the necessary respect within the alliance.” Luxembourg’s Deputy Prime Minister Xavier Bettel likened Trump’s push for European assistance in the war against Iran to “blackmail.”
Zimmerman acknowledged Wednesday that while there were “some discussions” with NATO allies before the U.S. and Israel launched their first strikes on Iran last month, the U.S. largely kept allies in the dark in an effort to “preserve operational security.”
Still, European countries such as Britain and Romania have allowed American military aircraft to use their military bases for the campaign. Air Force Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, head of U.S. European Command, told lawmakers on Wednesday that the support has been critical.
“The access that our allies provide, the ability to overfly their countries, the ability to operate from their countries… many of them are helping in substantial ways in this,” he said.