President Donald Trump said Saturday the United States will significantly reduce its troop presence in Germany, escalating a dispute with Chancellor Friedrich Merz as he seeks to scale back America’s commitment to European security.
The Pentagon on Friday initially announced it would withdraw roughly 5,000 troops from Germany. When asked Saturday about the reason for the move, Trump offered no explanation and indicated an even larger reduction is coming.
“We’re going to cut way down. And we’re cutting a lot further than 5,000,” Trump told reporters in Florida.
Earlier Saturday, Germany’s defense minister appeared to accept the news that 5,000 U.S. troops would leave his country. Boris Pistorius said the drawdown, which Trump has threatened for years, was expected, and European nations needed to take on more responsibility for their own defense. He emphasized that security cooperation benefited both sides of the trans-Atlantic partnership.
“The presence of American soldiers in Europe, and especially in Germany, is in our interest and in the interest of the U.S.,” Pistorius told the German news agency dpa.
The plan faces bipartisan resistance
The planned withdrawal faced bipartisan resistance in Washington, with swift criticism from Democrats and Republican concern that it would send the “wrong signal” to Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose full-scale invasion of Ukraine recently entered its fifth year.
Trump’s decision comes as he criticizes European allies for their unwillingness to join his campaign with Israel against Iran. He has lashed out at leaders including Merz, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Merz last week criticized the war in Iran, saying the U.S. is being “humiliated” by the Iranian leadership and calling out Washington’s lack of strategy.
In another sign of friction, Trump accused the European Union of not complying with its U.S. trade deal and announced plans to increase tariffs next week on cars and trucks produced in the bloc to 25%, a move that would be particularly damaging to Germany, a major automobile manufacturer.
At least one EU lawmaker called the tariff hike “unacceptable” and accused Trump of breaking yet another U.S. commitment on trade.
U.S. increased troops after Russian invasion of Ukraine
A pullout of 5,000 soldiers from Germany would amount to about one-seventh of the 36,000 American service members stationed in the country. The Pentagon offered few details about which troops or operations would be affected. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for details on further reductions.
The withdrawal of the 5,000 troops is scheduled to take place over the next six to 12 months, according to the Pentagon. Trump previously said he would pull 9,500 troops from Germany during his first term but did not start the process. Democratic President Joe Biden formally stopped the planned withdrawal soon after taking office in 2021.
More broadly, around 80,000 to 100,000 U.S. personnel are usually stationed in Europe, depending on operations, exercises, and troop rotations. The U.S. increased its European deployment after Russia launched its full-scale war on Ukraine in February 2022. NATO allies like Germany have expected for over a year that these troops would be the first to leave.
Pistorius said, “We Europeans must take on more responsibility for our security,” while noting recent German efforts to boost its armed forces, accelerate procurement, and develop infrastructure.
NATO spokesperson Allison Hart said Saturday the trans-Atlantic alliance is “working with the U.S. to understand the details of their decision on force posture in Germany.”
“This adjustment underscores the need for Europe to continue to invest more in defense and take on a greater share of the responsibility for our shared security,” she added, noting “progress” toward a target among NATO allies to each invest 5% of their economic output on defense.
A ‘thorough review’ prompted drawdown decision
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement the decision “follows a thorough review of the Department’s force posture in Europe and is in recognition of theater requirements and conditions on the ground.”
A U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, said the branches of the U.S. military did not have prior knowledge of the decision to draw down the 5,000 troops and learned about it “in real time.”
The Defense Department reiterated it conducted a thorough review of its force posture in Europe. “The decision to withdraw troops in Germany follows a comprehensive, multilayered process that incorporates perspectives from key leaders in EUCOM and across the chain of command,” wrote acting Pentagon press secretary Joel Valdez.
Most U.S. troops in Germany come from the Army and Air Force.
Germany hosts several American military facilities, including the headquarters of the U.S. European and Africa commands, Ramstein Air Base, and a medical center in Landstuhl where casualties from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were treated. U.S. nuclear missiles are also stationed in the country.
Withdrawal of 5,000 troops, the size of a brigade combat team, from Germany would likely have limited impact on combat power, but “in terms of messaging of U.S. commitment, it’s very different,” another U.S. defense official said.
The only permanent brigade combat team in Germany is the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, alongside an aviation brigade and other assets, considered important to America’s and NATO’s ability to deter threats.
GOP lawmakers voice concern about withdrawal plan
After swift pushback from Democrats on Friday, Republican leaders of both armed services committees in Congress said Saturday they were “very concerned” about the troop withdrawal.
Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi and Representative Mike Rogers of Alabama said the decision risked “undermining deterrence and sending the wrong signal to Vladimir Putin.”
They also said the Pentagon had decided to cancel the planned deployment of the Army’s Long-Range Fires Battalion. Parnell’s statement made no mention of that.
Wicker and Rogers said any significant change to the U.S. force posture in Europe warrants review and coordination with Congress.
“We expect the Department to engage with its oversight committees in the days and weeks ahead on this decision and its implications for U.S. deterrence and trans-Atlantic security,” they said in a joint statement.
They also noted Germany has heeded Trump’s call to shoulder more of the burden of defense spending in Europe while giving U.S. forces access to its bases and airspace in the war against Iran.