National Security Implications of GOP Chaos

Attending a national security and democracy forum in Berlin last month.

I recently attended four national security conferences in Europe and returned with one overarching takeaway: Our closest allies are unsure of whether we will (or can) remain a partner given the chaos in our political system. In Germany, Czechia, and Austria, there were deep concerns over a second Trump Administration as well as many questions over what the absence of a Speaker of the House and a looming government shutdown as early as November would mean for the EuroAtlantic alliance. Our European friends recognize that Trump 2.0 would be an unmitigated disaster for the alliance, precipitate the collapse of NATO, and invite enemies such as Russia to sow chaos in Europe. The 2024 presidential election is still more than a year away, but many questions I received revolved around what would happen between now and then; I had some guesses but few comforting answers.

The chaos around the unseating of McCarthy and the sel…