U.S. President Donald Trump said he would withdraw U.S. forces stationed in Germany on a far larger scale than planned, signaling major changes to Europe's security landscape.
According to the Associated Press and others on the 2nd (local time), President Trump met with reporters in Florida the same day and said, "We will cut far more than 5,000," suggesting an expanded reduction in U.S. forces in Germany. This exceeds the plan of about 5,000 troops that the U.S. Ministry of National Defense announced the previous day.
Earlier, the U.S. Ministry of National Defense said it planned to withdraw 5,000 troops—one-seventh of the roughly 36,000 personnel stationed in Germany—over six to 12 months. However, it did not disclose the specific units to be withdrawn.
President Trump did not offer further explanation for the reduction. During his first administration, he also pushed to withdraw 9,500 troops, but it was not actually carried out.
Currently, 80,000 to 100,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Europe. If additional reductions materialize as President Trump said, significant changes to the U.S. force posture in Europe maintained since the Cold War will be inevitable.
The U.S. Ministry of National Defense said the move followed a thorough review of force posture in Europe, but concerns are spreading quickly in U.S. political circles. Roger Wicker, the Republican chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Mike Rogers, the chair of the House Armed Services Committee, said in a joint statement that "withdrawing U.S. troops risks sending the wrong signal to Russian President Vladimir Putin." They argued that "redeploying some forces to Eastern Europe better serves U.S. interests than a full withdrawal." Democrats also pushed back strongly. Sen. Jack Reed, the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said, "Reducing forces while a war is ongoing is a grave mistake," and criticized, "The president should immediately reverse this decision."
The German government struck a cautious tone. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told local media that it was an "expected step," while adding, "Europe must take greater responsibility for its own security." He stressed, however, that "the U.S. military presence in Germany benefits both sides."
Meanwhile, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) said it is in close consultation with the United States. Allison Hart, the NATO Spokesperson, wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that "progress is already visible after allies agreed at the recent summit to spend 5% of gross domestic product (GDP) on defense."