Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed on Thursday that NATO countries, including the United States, need to establish a “realistic pathway” to escalate their defense budgets to meet a 5% benchmark.

Speaking at a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels, Rubio acknowledged the influence of domestic politics, noting that decades have been spent enhancing social safety nets, which might cause hesitation to redirect funds towards national security. However, he emphasized that the recent large-scale ground conflict in Europe serves as a stark reminder of the necessity for robust military strength as a deterrent.

“Our goal is to leave with an agreement that outlines a realistic trajectory for each member to commit to and achieve the goal of increasing defense spending to 5%,” Rubio stated, pointing out that even “the United States will need to boost its contribution.”

NATO’s largest annual maritime drill, Exercise Dynamic Mariner/Flotex 25, continues in the Gulf of Cadiz off southern Spain on March 28, 2025. (Burak Akbulut/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Rubio did not detail what timeframe he expected to see nations increase their defense spending to hit the 5% threshold, though if the U.S. did it in 2025, that would mean allocating nearly $1.49 trillion for defense – a figure that is higher than the current total spent by the entire NATO alliance, which collectively spent $1.47 trillion in 2024.

“As we speak right now, the United States is as active in NATO as it has ever been,” Rubio said. “Some of this hysteria and hyperbole that I see in the global media and some domestic media in the United States about NATO is unwarranted. 

“The United States president [has] made clear. He supports NATO. We’re going to remain in NATO,” he reaffirmed. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio greets the press as he walks with the newly appointed U.S. Permanent Representative to NATO Matthew Whitaker on the first day of the NATO foreign ministers’ meeting on April 3, 2025, in Brussels, Belgium.  (Omar Havana/Getty Images)

Rubio said the only way NATO nations can truly deter aggressor nations like Russia and China is by collectively increasing each NATO nation’s capabilities to contribute to the alliance’s collective defense. 

“We understand that’s a tradeoff,” Rubio said. “We have to do it every single year in our country – I assure you that we also have domestic needs.

“But we’ve prioritized defense because of the role we’ve played in the world, and we want our partners to do the same,” Rubio confirmed.