Two top US Republican lawmakers expressed concern on Saturday about the Pentagon’s decision to withdraw 5,000 troops from NATO ally Germany. Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi and Representative Mike Rogers of Alabama, who chair the Senate and House armed services committees respectively, issued a joint statement saying they are "very concerned by the decision to withdraw a US brigade from Germany."
Their statement came a day after the Pentagon announced the withdrawal, which is expected to be completed over the next six to 12 months. President Donald Trump had threatened the withdrawal earlier this week after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Monday that the Iranians were "humiliating" the United States in talks to end the war and that he could not see Washington’s exit strategy.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius responded to Trump’s announcement by saying, "It was foreseeable that the US would withdraw troops from Europe, including Germany." NATO spokesperson Allison Hart said on Saturday that the alliance was "working with the US to understand the details of their decision on force posture in Germany."
Wicker and Rogers emphasized that any significant change to the US military’s presence in Europe must be reviewed and coordinated with Congress and US allies. "We expect the Department to engage with its oversight committees in the days and weeks ahead on this decision and its implications for US deterrence and transatlantic security," they said.
They added that even if NATO allies raise defence spending to 5% of GDP, building the capabilities to take over conventional deterrence will take time, and prematurely cutting US forces in Europe "risks undermining deterrence and sending the wrong signal to [Russian president] Vladimir Putin."
