US President Donald Trump's administration is exploring giving up command of NATO, according to an NBC report on Tuesday, citing two defense officials.
This comes as part of a restructuring of the American military's command hierarchy, which would help the defense department cut costs.
NATO, a US-led military defensive alliance, has been led by the US since its establishment in the aftermath of World War II. This includes command of all NATO military operations in Europe, with the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) having been a US four-star general since its establishment, with the first SACEUR being future president Dwight D. Eisenhower.
SACEUR is also held by the head of US European Command (EUCOM), who has been the "primary commander overseeing support to Ukraine in its war against Russia," NBC added.
NBC also commented "It is not clear how long such a reorganization could take, and it could by modified by the time it is complete. Congress could also weigh in, using the power of the purse should members oppose any aspect of the initiative."
A major symbolic shift in the balance of power
Giving up SACEUR would be a "major symbolic shift in the balance of power in NATO," NBC reported.
US Admiral (ret.) James Stavridis, who served as SACEUR from 2009-2013, wrote an email discussing the issue, which was quoted in NBC's report.
“For the United States to give up the role of supreme allied commander of NATO would be seen in Europe as a significant signal of walking away from the alliance,” Stavridis wrote.
“It would be a political mistake of epic proportion, and once we give it up, they are not going to give it back," he added. "We would lose an enormous amount of influence within NATO, and this would be seen, correctly, as probably the first step toward leaving the Alliance altogether.”
"The timeline for the SACEUR move, if it does happen, is as yet undetermined. Army General Chris Cavoli, the current SACEUR, is on a three-year tour due to end this summer," NBC reported.
Wider federal restructuring
This report comes as the Trump administration and the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has attempted to cut federal spending across all departments.
Both President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have clearly stated that the administration wants European partners to take a larger share of responsibility for Europe's defense, according to NBC.
NATO, and SACEUR in particular, are responsible for the US guarantee of defending their European partners.
"Trump has repeatedly criticized NATO members for not meeting a goal the alliance has set for the percentage of GDP each country should spend on defense," NBC reported.
Trump is also reportedly considering a major policy shift under which the US might not defend a fellow NATO member if it is attacked if that country has not met the defense spending threshold, a previous NBC report stated.
While NATO has only invoked Article 5, the article which denotes that all members will defend an attacked member, once, and that was allies assisting the US in the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attack, it is a core tenant of the alliance, and no NATO treaty articles allow for provisos, as Trump has suggested.
Other military commands that could be consolidated
The US military is made up of 11 combatant commands, five of which could be consolidated, according to the two defense officials cited by NBC.
These changes could include consolidating the US European Command (EUCOM) and the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) into one command based at EUCOM's current headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany.
The two defense officials who spoke to NBC stated that if the Pentagon does decide to merge EUCOM and AFRICOM, then it would "be part of the justification for eliminating the SACEUR role…because overseeing an area that large is already a big enough job for one person without that person also overseeing NATO military operations."
Other changes could include closing US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), responsible for Latin America and its environs, currently headquartered in Florida, with US Northern Command (NORTHCOM), largely responsible for the home front and national defense.
Combining these commands could save up to $270 million in the first year, according to NBC News, citing a Pentagon briefing. However, this would only amount to roughly "0.03% of the Defense Department's $850 billion annual budget."
J7, the Joint Staff Directorate, which oversees Joint Force Development, training, and education, could also be eliminated entirely, leaving the Army, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard responsible for their own training, NBC reported.
US Space Command could "see its missile defense component command eliminated in the restructuring," the report added.
The US is also likely to halt the planned expansion of US Forces Japan, which would save approximately $1.18 billion, according to NBC.
The Defense Department did not reply to NBC's request for comment.
