Trump orders withdrawal of 5,000 U.S. Troops from Germany

Minara Helen: Trump ordered the Pentagon on Friday to withdraw about 5,000 U.S. service members from Germany amid his public feud with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

The redeployment of troops will bring the number of service members roughly to pre-2022 levels and will affect a brigade combat team and potentially other U.S. forces already in Germany, according to a senior Pentagon official.

The shake-up will affect the long-range fires battalion that the prior administration planned to deploy to the country later this year.

It comes as the Trump administration has expressed frustration with Germany and other NATO allies over not stepping up enough during America’s war with Iran.

Merz said this week that Iran was “humiliating” the U.S. as it chokes off the Strait of Hormuz and causes chaos in global energy markets.

Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell confirmed the withdrawal in a statement to The Hill, saying 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.”

The Pentagon expects the withdrawal to be completed over the next six to 12 months, according to Parnell.

On Wednesday, Trump said he was reviewing a possible reduction of U.S. troops in Germany, with the decision to be made over the “next short period of time.”

The withdrawal also comes as relations between Washington and Berlin have grown tense in recent weeks, with Trump arguing that Merz miscalculated the threat posed by Iran.

“He doesn’t know what he’s talking about! If Iran had a Nuclear Weapon, the whole World would be held hostage. I am doing something with Iran, right now, that other Nations, or Presidents, should have done long ago,” Trump wrote Tuesday on Truth Social. “No wonder Germany is doing so poorly, both Economically, and otherwise!”

Previously, the German chancellor had said that Washington had been “humiliated” by Iran amid the closure of the Strait of Hormuz during a conversation with students in his country.

The move would follow the administration’s priority of focusing on the Western Hemisphere and Indo-Pacific and could be met with rebukes on Capitol Hill among defense hawks who are wary of reducing the U.S. military footprint in Europe.

Last fall, the Pentagon pulled some rotations of brigades in NATO nations, including Romania, and brought them back to the U.S., a move that infuriated the Republican chairs of the House and Senate Armed Services committees.

“We strongly oppose the decision not to maintain the rotational U.S. brigade in Romania and the Pentagon’s process for its ongoing force posture review that may result in further drawdowns of U.S. forces from Eastern Europe,” Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), the chairs of the Senate and House Armed Services committees, respectively, said at the time.

Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defended the withdrawal, with the Pentagon chief saying the move was coordinated with the White House and NATO.

“It’s all part of the view that we have of Europe. And there will remain troops in Romania, but there’s some change in how we rotate and how many,” Hegseth said at the time.

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