Hegseth Unveils National Security Strategy: Focus on Western Hemisphere

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth endorsed the newly released National Security Strategy at the Reagan National Defense Forum, emphasizing a refocused military agenda centered on Western Hemisphere dominance, China deterrence, and strengthening the defense industrial base. Hegseth rejected what he termed distracting priorities including democracy building and climate initiatives, instead pledging to prioritize ‘practical, concrete interests.’ The strategy’s revival of Monroe Doctrine language and apparent scaling back of NATO expansion has sparked bipartisan congressional concern about implications for US-European relations and force posture decisions.