Trump Administration Launches AUKUS Review
The Defense Department is reviewing whether the Australia-U.K.-U.S. (AUKUS) security partnership that began under the Biden administration is aligned with President Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda, a defense spokesperson said June 13.
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The review will ensure that AUKUS meets “America First” criteria, including “the highest readiness of our servicemembers, that allies step up fully to do their part for collective defense, and that the defense industrial base is meeting our needs,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
Several Democratic lawmakers, including Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., said they’re concerned that the Trump administration may be preparing to end the partnership. “News that the Trump administration is considering backing away from AUKUS will be met with cheers in Beijing, which is already celebrating America’s global pullback and our strained ties with allies under President Trump,” Shaheen said.
Trump’s nominee for assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs said in May that the Trump administration is “committed” to continuing AUKUS, which the Biden administration launched in 2021 to promote defense trade among the three countries (see 2505150053).