Barrasso calls for Biden to reinforce NATO support during Europe trip

Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) on Sunday called for President Biden to travel to NATO’s most eastern front and to make further commitments to the military alliance when he travels to Europe later this week.

Appearing on ABC’s “This Week,” Barrasso said there were three things Biden must do if he wishes to “lead from the front, rather than leading from behind.”

“Number one is he needs to tell NATO that we collectively are going to supply the people of Ukraine things that they know how to use, whether it’s drones, planes, missile systems,” Barrasso said. “Number two, he has to say that he is going to go from Brussels to the eastern front of NATO to show the resolve of NATO and the United States commitment as well.”

The final action that Barrasso said Biden must do while visiting NATO this week is to tell European allies that the U.S. will increase its liquefied natural gas exports to make up for the Russian energy that they rely on.

While the U.S. has sanctioned Russian energy, Europe has so far held off on issuing a similar action due to its strong reliance on Moscow’s exports.

“The president needs to lead by saying we’re going to increase production of oil and natural gas in the United States. We’re going to send it to you and we — that’s what leadership is all about. I have legislation in a bipartisan way to make that possible,” Barrasso added.