Hawley lone vote against NATO expansion

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley was the only member of the 100-person Senate to vote against accepting Finland and Sweden into the NATO alliance.

The Senate voted 95-1 this week for the expansion of the alliance that was created during the Cold War to counter Soviet expansion. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky), voted present.

"The reason is expanding NATO doesn't make the United States safer and it doesn't make the United States stronger at this point in time and that's why I voted no," Hawley told ABC 17 News on Thursday. "It's a really easy equation. Here's what expanding NATO will mean, it'll mean more United States troops and more United States spending and more of our resources over in Europe."

Hawley also said the United States still has to be prepared to defend itself against China and secure its southern border before it gets more involved in Europe.

The move to expand the alliance is seen largely as a rebuke against Russia, which is continuing its war in Ukraine and is opposed to any expansion of NATO.