There’s something almost quaint about bipartisan cooperation these days. It feels like spotting a unicorn in the wild, which makes the Senate NATO Observer Group’s appearance at the Munich Security Conference worth paying attention to. Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Thom Tillis, one Democrat from New Hampshire and one Republican from North Carolina, sat down with NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly to discuss what’s actually happening with the alliance that’s kept Europe mostly peaceful for over seven decades.
The Munich Security Conference has become the place where world news gets made, or at least where everyone important pretends to make it. It’s where defense ministers rub shoulders with think tank scholars, and where the future of international security gets hammered out over coffee that probably costs more than most people’s monthly subscriptions.
Why This Conversation Matters Right Now
NATO isn’t exactly having its easiest moment. Between questions about defense spending, ongoing tensions with Russia, and the perpetual debate about what collective defense really means in practice, the alliance faces challenges that would make its Cold War architects nervous.
Shaheen and Tillis representing the Senate NATO Observer Group sends a specific signal. When you get a Democrat and Republican to agree on anything related to foreign policy these days, it usually means the issue is serious enough to transcend partisan squabbling. Or it means NATO is one of the few remaining topics where American politicians can still find common ground without getting destroyed on social media.
The timing of this discussion matters too. Europe is watching American politics with the kind of nervous energy usually reserved for natural disasters. Every election cycle brings new questions about America’s commitment to transatlantic defense, and every security conference becomes an exercise in reassurance, whether that reassurance is warranted or not.
The Bipartisan Theater We Actually Need
Here’s the thing about the Senate NATO Observer Group. It’s not just a symbolic gesture or a nice photo opportunity for senators who want to seem serious about international relations. These are the people who actually shape American policy toward the alliance, who approve defense budgets, and who can make or break treaties.
When they show up together in Munich, European allies are reading the tea leaves. They’re trying to figure out if American commitment to NATO is stable regardless of which party controls Congress or the White House. The answer, based on Shaheen and Tillis sharing a stage, seems to be a cautious yes.
But let’s not pretend this is all sunshine and unified messaging. Bipartisan doesn’t mean agreement on everything. It just means they’ve found enough overlap to present a united front on the basics, which in today’s political climate might as well be a miracle.
The real question isn’t whether two senators can sit together and talk nicely about NATO. It’s whether that bipartisan consensus actually translates into policy that keeps the alliance strong when it faces real tests, not just hypothetical ones discussed at fancy conferences in Bavaria.
