US Defense Secretary Backs Down from Major Troop Reduction Plan in Europe

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had planned to significantly reduce the number of American troops in Europe, but he backed down after presenting the plan to the White House, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Last month, Hegseth intended to travel to Brussels to make a major announcement at a NATO military leadership meeting. Sources say he planned to announce new troop reductions, even larger than previously canceled plans to forgo stationing an armored brigade in Poland and withdraw an infantry brigade from Romania.

However, the proposal was rejected after being presented to President Donald Trump's National Security Advisor Marco Rubio and other senior officials. Instead, Hegseth announced that the US would review its troop deployment in Europe, a process that could take up to six months.

This incident indicates that the administration has not yet agreed on the pace and scale of potential troop reductions. Although Trump has spoken about punishing NATO countries that he believes spend too little on defense, Hegseth's proposals and harsh rhetoric have alarmed both allies and lawmakers, including several leading Republicans who fear the defense secretary could cause irreparable harm to the alliance and embolden Russia.

The White House directed questions to the Defense Department. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said that Hegseth ensured his message aligned with the president's goals and agenda and did not want to limit the president's decision-making space.

The number of US troops and allied defense spending are expected to be key topics at the meeting between Trump and NATO leaders next week in Ankara. NATO officials hope the summit will demonstrate unity with the US and support for Ukraine, but there are concerns that tensions with Trump could overshadow the meeting.

The Pentagon's January defense strategy made clear that the US would reduce its military presence in Europe as it focuses more on the western Pacific and the Western Hemisphere. The strategy stated that primary responsibility for defending Europe should shift to European nations.

In May, Hegseth unexpectedly canceled a nine-month rotation of an armored brigade from Texas to Poland. The decision drew sharp criticism from lawmakers in Congress and worried Polish officials. Trump later called Hegseth, asking why he treated a valuable ally so poorly, and subsequently announced the deployment of 5,000 troops to Poland, though additional units have not yet been moved.

The possibility of further US troop reductions in Europe remains. Hegseth and his top policy adviser, Elbridge Colby, have been particularly determined to cut US units assigned to Europe. Colby has long advocated limiting US commitments outside Asia to free up resources for countering China.

The war with Iran gave Hegseth and Colby a new opportunity to reconsider troop commitments. While Britain provided the US with an airbase for strikes on Iran, Spain refused to allow use of its facilities. After German Chancellor Friedrich Merz criticized the Trump administration's Iran strategy, Trump continued to criticize Europe and threatened to withdraw US troops from Germany in May.

The Pentagon's recent troop reduction initiatives have worried lawmakers from both parties. They included provisions in the military spending bill that prohibit the Defense Department from reducing troop numbers below 76,000 unless the risks are assessed by the commander of US European Command and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and personally confirmed by Hegseth.

According to sources, these concerns grew last month when Hegseth's office planned a phone call with lawmakers before the June NATO defense ministers' meeting. However, in the call, Hegseth only said he planned to conduct a review. He also made critical comments about Europe, saying at the NATO meeting: "Make no mistake – this will be a serious review. Its purpose is to ensure that NATO is rapidly and irreversibly moving toward Europe stepping forward and taking primary responsibility for the defense of Europe."