Concerned Veterans for America (CVA) is calling for a foreign policy of restraint and a halt to runaway federal spending in its newly released 2025 policy priorities, warning that unchecked security commitments and deficit spending pose long-term risks to the United States.
The advocacy group, which was previously headed by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, emphasizes that a prudent and restrained foreign policy accompanied by a budget that prevents additional growth of the national debt is the best policy for both veterans and their families and for Americans in general. These priorities align it with a growing conservative push for foreign policy realism in the new Trump administration.
“We’re focused on providing for a strong national defense as the center of our foreign policy, and we believe that that means having a clear view of American vital interests,” Tyler Koteskey, the policy director at CVA, told The American Conservative. CVA’s plan highlights that the U.S. military is tasked with defending 1.4 billion people worldwide despite limited resources. As a result, “we need to reassess how we engage with different parts of the world, like the Middle East,” continued Koteskey.
As part of this recalibration, the group calls for implementing NATO burden-shifting by reducing U.S. troop deployments to NATO countries, encouraging greater leadership in the alliance from European NATO allies, and transitioning the American role in the alliance to one of logistical support rather than frontline defense. This will allow the U.S. to concentrate its resources on emerging threats in Asia.
Additionally, the policy statement suggests that the U.S. should reject taking on any further security commitments. These include potential additions to NATO such as Georgia and Ukraine, as well as any concessions to Saudi Arabia as part of an agreement to normalize relations with Israel. “America should cultivate alliances when they directly advance U.S. security,” the agenda reads. “It should not pursue them merely out of an abstract commitment to partnership.”
CVA’s statement comes at a critical time for American foreign policy as the new Trump administration is weighing how to pursue its goals abroad during the president’s second term and Republicans are debating the proper stance on American involvement abroad. CVA’s call for reduced NATO commitments aligns with Trump’s past criticisms of the alliance. However, its opposition to further security commitments in Ukraine and Saudi Arabia could complicate U.S. efforts to broker an end to the war in Ukraine or expand the Abraham Accords—both of which are stated priorities for Trump in his second term.
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Another major goal of CVA’ 2025 policy platform is achieving a sound fiscal foundation for the American economy and government. “We agree with former CJCS Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen that the national debt is America’s ‘greatest security threat’ over the long term,” Koteskey said. Getting “the United States on a sustainable fiscal path is vital to our ability to sustain the forces that are necessary to protect our interests around the world.” To curb federal spending and promote a strong American economy, CVA proposes automatic budget measures to prevent shutdowns, a requirement for Congress to pass a single, comprehensive budget each year, and limits on government expenditures tied to economic growth.
“When we are $36 trillion in debt and experiencing a debt-to-GDP ratio [we] haven’t had since World War II, we [must change] the course of our fiscal policy to be more sustainable,” said Koteskey.
As the second Trump administration takes shape, CVA’s policy priorities align it with a growing faction of conservatives advocating for foreign policy restraint and fiscal discipline. Whether these proposals succeed will depend on how the U.S. navigates competing pressures over NATO, Ukraine, and defense spending in the years ahead.
