Hegseth to Congress: Europe Must Take 'Primary Responsibility' for Its Own Conventional Defense

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth testified before Congress on April 29, 2026, stating that the Department of Defense would 'continue to demand that NATO allies do their part to take primary responsibility for Europe's conventional defense.' Hegseth distinguished between 'model allies' — Poland, Finland, and the Baltic states, who spend above 4% of GDP and had cooperated on Hormuz operations — and those who 'failed to step up,' who would 'face consequences.' The testimony simultaneously revealed that NATO allies were considering skipping the 2028 NATO summit to avoid a confrontational encounter with Trump in his final full calendar year in office. Reuters cited six sources among allied governments who described the unprecedented deliberation about boycotting the alliance's signature annual event.