Brussels: U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is expected to skip next month’s NATO defense ministers’ meeting in Brussels, according to a U.S. government official and a senior NATO diplomat familiar with planning for the event. If confirmed, his absence would mark the second consecutive meeting of top Alliance ministers that a senior U.S. Cabinet official will not attend a pattern that has attracted attention in diplomatic and military circles.
The defense ministers’ gathering, a core institutional forum of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), typically brings together defense chiefs from all member countries to coordinate strategic priorities, military readiness, and collective defense initiatives. A consistent U.S. presence at such meetings has long been viewed as a cornerstone of the transatlantic security partnership.
Hegseth’s apparent decision to forego the planned February session follows the absence of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio from the NATO foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels last December. That earlier absence was officially downplayed by European allies at the time, who pointed to ongoing consultations with Washington on key issues, and emphasized that close cooperation continued regardless of attendance.
Analysts suggest the successive absences of high-level American officials from NATO forums could feed into broader debate among alliance partners about the perceived level of U.S. engagement with Europe’s security architecture. With NATO facing multiple strategic pressures from Russia’s prolonged military aggression in Eastern Europe to debates over burden-sharing and capability development the optics of leadership participation have become a focal point.
The role of the United States in NATO has been evolving under the current administration. Recent public statements by senior U.S. defense officials have emphasized a shift in strategic priority towards homeland defense and challenges posed by China, while also urging European allies to significantly increase their defense spending and industrial capabilities.
For many NATO members, particularly those in Eastern Europe, sustained high-level American participation in alliance meetings offers reassurance of collective security guarantees and alignment in confronting Russia’s threats. Hegseth’s anticipated absence therefore comes at a sensitive moment, as defense ministers prepare to discuss key issues ahead of the next NATO leaders’ summit later this year.
Diplomatic sources say the Pentagon and U.S. officials have not yet publicly explained the reasons behind Hegseth’s planned non-attendance, nor whether senior U.S. representatives will engage in parts of the agenda via virtual participation or designate deputies to attend in his place. As preparations continue, allied capitals will be closely watching how the United States chooses to balance domestic defense priorities with its longstanding leadership role in transatlantic defense cooperation.