In December 2025, the White House released the 2025 National Security Strategy (NSS), branding the document as an America First blueprint for U.S. foreign policy. The strategy marks a distinct shift in emphasis—from long-standing ambitions of competitive great-power politics to a region-centric, transactional approach that foregrounds the Western Hemisphere as the central theater of American leadership. It also foregrounds economic security and immigration concerns, arguing that national strength rests on securing U.S. jobs, markets, and borders while recalibrating alliances around burden-sharing.
Key elements of the NSS include a Western HemispherePriority, a rebalanced posture toward Europe and the Indo-Pacific as secondary theaters, and a push for greater allied defense burdens. The plan proposes deregulation in the technology and infrastructure sectors in order to unlock investment and accelerate growth, paired with more aggressive use of sanctions and other tools to shape behavior abroad. A notable conceptual addition is the so-called “Trump Corollary,” a Monroe Doctrine–inspired rubric that envisions expanding U.S. influence within the hemisphere to deter regional competitors (notably China) and to justify security actions when deemed necessary to protect national interests.
The NSS represents a departure from a rhetoric of explicit major-power competition, instead prioritizing regional stability and managed great-power engagement—rebalancing trade with China, managing relations with Europe, and shaping intra-hemispheric dynamics as central to U.S. leadership. This shift has been reflected and analyzed by scholars and policymakers, including Brookings Institution experts who published a critical briefing in early December and followed up with Washington-based discussions, highlighting potential friction with European partners who may perceive the approach as a retreat from traditional alliance commitments.
Reaction to the NSS has been mixed. Brookings essays describe how Europe’s patience could wear thin if burden-sharing demands intensify or if policy shifts undercut established security arrangements. European allies—along with the broader transatlantic community—are watching for signs about how America intends to balance competing priorities, particularly as Russia and China recalibrate their own strategies in response to Washington’s pivot toward regional security and economic nationalism. China, for its part, is portrayed as reorienting its economic engagement with the United States, while signaling a cautious approach as it weighs investments and market access against domestic political calculations.
Critics warn of several risks: the potential erosion of the rules-based international order, the risk of straining transatlantic ties, underresourcing diplomacy, and elevating migration or security concerns without clear policy detail. Some observers argue that a more transactional, Europe-centric strategy could undermine long-term strategic credibility and diplomatic capacity if domestic political pressures and regulatory changes outpace the ability of the state to implement coherent policy.
Overall, the NSS embodies a foundational reorientation of U.S. foreign policy under the Trump administration: a focus on the Western Hemisphere, a recalibration of major-power relationships, and a push toward greater burden-sharing with allies—set against a backdrop of debates within think tanks, capitals, and foreign capitals about what this means for global order and regional stability.
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