As U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio departs for a critical NATO foreign ministers’ gathering in Helsingborg, Sweden, his core mission is clear: calm rising unease among Washington’s European allies over the Trump administration’s inconsistent approach to the transatlantic alliance and unclear plans for American troop levels across the continent.
Friday’s gathering will coincide with separate briefings at NATO’s Brussels headquarters, where senior Pentagon leaders are set to outline the U.S. military’s long-term defense commitment to the 32-nation bloc. The meeting comes as a precursor to July’s NATO leaders’ summit in Istanbul, unfolding against a backdrop of sweeping global security uncertainty: the unresolved trajectory of the ongoing war in Iran, and stalled U.S. efforts to restart peace negotiations to end the two-year Russia-Ukraine conflict. Lingering friction also remains from President Donald Trump’s repeated public criticism of underfunding by European allies, and his controversial public interest in acquiring the autonomous Danish territory of Greenland, a NATO member asset.
Rubio has emerged as the Trump administration’s go-to diplomat for de-escalating tensions at high-stakes allied gatherings, tasked with projecting a more measured, less confrontational tone than the president often delivers. This already marks his third such outreach mission in 2025, following February’s Munich Security Conference and a recent trip to Rome, where he met with Italian government leaders and Pope Leo XIV. That meeting came after Trump publicly attacked the American-born pontiff over his positions on street crime and U.S. policy in the Iran war.
A major source of confusion for allies right now centers on contradictory signals about U.S. troop deployments in Europe. Ahead of his departure for Sweden, Rubio declined to answer questions about potential adjustments to the number of U.S. troops assigned to the NATO Force Model, the alliance’s core contingency defense plan for major European security crises. Just days before the meeting, the Trump administration first announced it would cancel planned deployments of thousands of troops to Poland and Germany. Then on Thursday, Trump posted a surprise reversal on social media, declaring the U.S. would deploy an additional 5,000 troops to Poland. To date, no clarification has emerged: it remains unclear whether the previously canceled deployment is being reinstated, whether the 5,000 troops represent an additive increase to rotational presence, or whether an overall drawdown of U.S. forces in Europe will still proceed from other theater locations. The Pentagon redirected all press queries to the White House, which has not issued an immediate response to requests for clarity.
While Rubio reaffirmed his position as a self-described “strong supporter” of the transatlantic alliance, he did not soften the Trump administration’s core criticism of NATO’s response to the Iran war. He told reporters ahead of his flight from Miami that the entire administration, including the president, is “very disappointed” in the alliance’s inaction, a sentiment Rubio said should come as no surprise to any participating ally.
In pointed remarks, Rubio called out NATO member Spain specifically for refusing to grant the U.S. access to its Spanish-based military bases for operations related to the Iran conflict. He also noted that many other allies have rejected calls to join a U.S.-led coalition to re-open and secure the Strait of Hormuz, the critical global oil shipping chokepoint that Iran has effectively closed to commercial traffic in recent months. “I know why NATO is good for Europe, but why is NATO good for America?” Rubio asked rhetorically during his pre-departure press briefing, answering his own question by pointing to the value of European bases for global U.S. power projection. “So, when that is the key rationale for why you’re in NATO, and then you have countries like Spain denying us the use of these bases, well, then, why are you in NATO?”
Rubio added that while nearly all NATO allies formally back the U.S. position that Iran must not be permitted to develop a nuclear weapon, almost none have stepped up to back Trump’s preventive military action. “He’s not asking them to commit troops. He’s not asking them to send their fighter jets in. But they refuse to do anything, and so I think the president looks at that and says, ‘Hold on a second,’” Rubio said. “I think we were very upset about that. The president has made that very clear.”
Top NATO officials have attempted to downplay the chaos around shifting U.S. troop plans, framing adjustments as part of long-planned reorientation that allies were notified of well in advance. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte told reporters Wednesday that European allies have been aware for a full year that the Trump administration planned to withdraw some U.S. troops from the continent. Rutte said it is reasonable to expect European and Canadian members to take on greater responsibility for conventional defense of the alliance, particularly in Europe. While Rutte affirmed the U.S. will remain engaged in transatlantic security, he acknowledged that over time Washington may reallocate military resources to other global hotspots.
U.S. General Alexus Grynkewich, the commander of both U.S. and NATO forces in Europe, echoed that message this week, saying current security commitments will not leave Europe with a defense gap, but warned allies to prepare for additional incremental U.S. troop drawdowns over the coming years. The Trump administration has repeatedly made clear to European allies that in the long term, the continent will need to take full ownership of its own security, including defense support for Ukraine against Russian aggression.