A controversial Pentagon plan to withdraw 5,000 United States military personnel from Germany has ignited fierce political debate on both sides of the Atlantic, triggering anxiety within the NATO alliance over the future of transatlantic security coordination. The proposal, which comes in the wake of a heated public dispute between U.S. President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, has drawn sharp condemnation from top congressional leaders, who warn it will weaken deterrence against Russian aggression and send a dangerous message to Moscow.
Two of the most senior Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill — Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker and House Armed Services Committee Chair Mike Rogers — have led the criticism of the troop drawdown. In a joint statement, the pair argued that instead of removing the 5,000 troops from Europe entirely, the forces should be repositioned further east to strengthen deterrence along NATO’s eastern flank. They emphasized their deep concern that withdrawing a full U.S. brigade comes at a moment when European allies are just beginning to ramp up their defense spending to meet NATO targets, calling an early drawdown premature and counterproductive to shared security goals. “Prematurely reducing America’s forward presence in Europe before those capabilities are fully realised risks undermining deterrence and sending the wrong signal to Vladimir Putin,” the statement read.
The top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, Adam Smith, went even further, rejecting the Pentagon’s decision as completely unmoored from coherent U.S. national security strategy. Smith argued the move was not rooted in strategic analysis, but rather driven by personal political vengeance over the public disagreement between Trump and Merz. Not all congressional Republicans have opposed the plan, however: House Armed Services Committee member Clay Higgins voiced support for the administration’s move, taking a sarcastic shot at German leadership and the U.S. Senate in a post on X.
Pentagon officials have defended the drawdown, with spokesperson Sean Parnell confirming last Friday that the decision followed a comprehensive strategic review that adjusted U.S. force posture to match current theater requirements and on-the-ground conditions. The withdrawal, ordered by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, is expected to be completed over a six to 12 month timeline, Parnell added.
The decision follows a public row between Trump and Merz that erupted earlier this month, after the German chancellor told students that the U.S. had been “humiliated” by Iranian negotiators in the ongoing Iran conflict and lacked a clear strategy. Trump hit back hard on his Truth Social platform, accusing Merz of supporting Iranian nuclear ambitions and dismissing his comments as uninformed. Just days after the exchange, the troop withdrawal plan was announced.
On Saturday, Trump further stoked tensions by confirming that additional troop cuts beyond the initial 5,000 are on the table, declining to share further details. The U.S. currently maintains more than 36,000 active-duty troops in Germany — by far its largest deployment in Europe, compared to roughly 12,000 in Italy and 10,000 in the United Kingdom. Trump has previously floated the idea of withdrawing troops from Italy and Spain as well, following a 2025 drawdown in Romania that aligned with his administration’s broader goal of shifting U.S. military focus away from Europe and toward the Indo-Pacific region.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius responded to the announcement with measured composure, telling German news agency DPA that the decision had been “foreseeable.” He stressed that the ongoing U.S. military presence in Europe, and specifically in Germany, remains a mutual interest for both Berlin and Washington.
Within NATO, which counts 32 member states, the announcement has sparked growing anxiety that the drawdown could weaken the alliance’s collective defense posture. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk issued a stark warning Saturday, saying that the greatest threat to the transatlantic community is not external adversaries, but the ongoing internal disintegration of the NATO alliance. “We must all do what it takes to reverse this disastrous trend,” Tusk said.
Nato spokesperson Allison Hart confirmed Saturday that the alliance has reached out to Washington to get full clarity on the drawdown plans. In a post on X, Hart framed the decision as a reminder of why European allies must continue increasing defense investment and take on a greater share of responsibility for shared transatlantic security. Hart noted that progress was already underway after allies agreed to a target of 2% of GDP on defense at last year’s NATO summit in The Hague.
Trump has long criticized Germany for failing to meet NATO’s 2% of GDP defense spending target, repeatedly labeling Berlin “delinquent” in its contributions. However, under successive governments led by former Chancellor Olaf Scholz and current Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Germany has dramatically increased its defense budget. Projections now show Germany will spend €105.8 billion ($114 billion) on defense by 2027, pushing total defense expenditure to 3.1% of GDP when all special defense funds, including military aid to Ukraine, are counted.