Senior Republican legislators voiced opposition on Saturday to the Pentagon’s announcement that it would remove 5,000 American military personnel from Germany, a key NATO partner.
Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi and Representative Mike Rogers of Alabama released a joint statement expressing their displeasure with the military drawdown decision. Both lawmakers serve as chairmen of their respective Armed Services Committees in the Senate and House.
“We are very concerned by the decision to withdraw a U.S. brigade from Germany,” the Republican leaders stated in their joint announcement.
The lawmakers issued their response one day following the Pentagon’s official announcement of the troop reduction, which military officials said would take between six months to one year to fully implement.
The decision follows recent diplomatic friction between President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Earlier this week, Merz criticized American strategy regarding Iran negotiations, stating that Iranians were “humiliating the U.S. in talks to end the two-month-old war” and questioning Washington’s exit strategy approach.
According to Wicker and Rogers, any major adjustments to American military positioning in Europe requires proper consultation with both Congressional oversight committees and allied nations.
“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 transatlantic security,” the legislators declared in their statement.
The lawmakers warned that reducing American forces in Europe too quickly could send problematic messages to Russian President Vladimir Putin and weaken regional security. They noted that even if NATO member countries increase their defense budgets to 5% of their GDP, developing adequate military capabilities to handle conventional deterrence independently will require significant time.
The statement emphasized that premature cuts to U.S. forces in Europe “risks undermining deterrence and sending the wrong signal to Vladimir Putin.”
