Trump team working to remove top NATO official

[FarCenter]

5. Apparently, she is too soft on Russia

The move against Gottemoeller is not so much about Trump’s positions on NATO as it is about long-standing complaints by Republican members of Congress and conservative arms control officials about Gottemoeller herself. She has long been criticized by Republican hawks as being too soft on Russia and she stands accused of withholding information about Russian cheating on treaties from both Congress and NATO allies.

“My colleagues and I consider Ms. Gottemoeller to have systematically misled and concealed information from the Congress about Russian arms control violations,” said House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Ala.). “I can’t imagine working with Ms. Gottemoeller as the Congress considers how to strengthen deterrence and assurance in Europe.”

When Obama appointed Gottemoeller as undersecretary of state for arms control and international security in 2014, three leading GOP senators opposed her nomination and accused her of failing to notify Congress and NATO allies of Russian violations of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.