NATO members in Europe should bear more of the costs of collective defense, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday, echoing President Donald Trump’s call for allies to spend 5% of their GDP on defense while sidestepping suggestions that the US should hit the same target.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday he wanted to increase overall U.S. defense spending and played down concerns over a pending audit by Elon Musk aimed at finding billions of dollars in waste at the Pentagon.

Hegseth urged NATO allies to bolster their defense spending from 2% to 5% of their GDP, noting that the U.S. is attempting to "revive the warrior ethos" as well.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has called for NATO’s European members to increase their role in the defense of Europe as the United States focuses on defending the alliance’s Pacific flank. It is a move that he says will likely require European allies to significantly increase defense spending from 2% of GDP to about 5% of GDP.