Elbridge Colby, undersecretary of war for policy, will attend Wednesday’s virtual meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, but War Secretary Pete Hegseth will not, a War Department official told the Washington Examiner.
Hegseth has irregularly attended the monthly meetings, in which more than 50 countries are usually represented, since assuming the position of war secretary more than a year ago, demonstrating that he and the administration have different priorities.
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German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and United Kingdom defense chief John Healey have taken the helm of the group, which had been led and founded by former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, though early in Hegseth’s tenure, he gave away the position as leader of the group.
Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, Supreme Allied Commander Europe, is also unable to attend Wednesday’s meeting, though his deputy, U.K. Air Chief Marshal Sir Johnny Stringer, and German Maj. Gen. Ulf Haussler, deputy commander of the NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine, will participate instead, according to Politico.
The Trump administration has taken a much different stance toward Ukraine, and Europe more broadly, than its predecessor. Under the Biden administration, the U.S. would give Ukraine weapons to use in its war against Russia, which the Trump administration had stopped, and set up a system in which European countries would pay for American weapons given to Ukraine.
Hegseth, early in his tenure, also told European allies that they would need to become less reliant on the U.S. military and take their collective defense into their own hands.
Most recently, European leaders have angered President Donald Trump for refusing to get involved in the U.S. war against Iran. Trump initially sought their assistance in trying to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has largely shut down since the war began, but the president has since been very critical of the NATO alliance due to their refusal.
Last week, Trump wrote on Truth Social that “NATO wasn’t there when we needed them, and they won’t be there if we need them again.”
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French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Monday that, together with the United Kingdom, they will organize a conference to establish a multinational mission aimed at ensuring freedom of navigation in the strait, but said it would be a strictly defensive operation.
The Trump administration is looking at possible punishments for NATO countries that have been critical of the war, according to the Wall Street Journal.
