As Europe sweats Trump, U.S. lawmakers seek trade show diplomacy in Paris

Driving the news: Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) will lead a trip to the Paris Air Show, among the highest profile aerospace-and-defense gatherings in the world.

• Ahead of the visit, Shaheen told Axios she expects to encounter "some particular challenges, because of the president's trade war."
• There could be more rifts between the U.S. and its allies still to come. The Financial Times reported Wednesday that the Pentagon is reviewing its AUKUS defense pact with the U.K. and Australia — the key element of which is a major nuclear submarine deal — to ensure it aligns with an "America first" agenda.

Zoom in: Other attendees include Democratic Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and Gary Peters of Michigan and Republican Sens. Deb Fischer of Nebraska and Roger Wicker of Mississippi.

By the numbers: Some 48 countries will be represented at the Paris Air Show, including Australia, Canada, Israel, Taiwan and Ukraine.

Context: President Trump's reelection and rhetoric — smearing Kyiv and blasting the European Union as "nastier than China," for example — have forced a recalculation in Europe.

• "The message that we're trying to convey is we understand how important … our allies in Europe are to the United States, to our own national security here, to our economic well-being," Shaheen said.
• "Congress is a different branch of our government."

What's next: A NATO summit in the Netherlands is scheduled for June 24-25.

Go deeper: Trump triggers Europe economic worries, defense problems