US President Donald Trump said he plans to cut the number of US troops stationed in Germany “a lot further,” a day after the Defense Department ordered the pullback of around 5,000 American service members.
“We’re going to cut way down and we’re cutting a lot further than 5,000,” Trump told reporters in Florida. A Defense Department spokesperson said the withdrawal would be completed in the next six to 12 months. As part of the decision, a Biden-era plan to deploy a US battalion armed with long-range Tomahawk missiles to Germany has been scrapped.
The announcement followed a public spat earlier in the week between German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Trump. Merz questioned Washington’s exit strategy in the Middle East and said Iran was “humiliating” the US at the negotiating table, prompting an angry response from Trump.
There are currently more than 50,000 US service members stationed in Germany. US figures show roughly 86,000 US soldiers in Europe overall; Germany hosts more than 36,000 active-duty personnel plus over 11,000 national guard, reserve soldiers and civilian personnel, according to the US Defense Manpower Data Center.
Top Republicans say sends ‘wrong signal’
Democrats criticized the planned withdrawal, and Republican lawmakers Senator Roger Wicker and Representative Mike Rogers, chairs of the Senate and House armed services committees, said they were “very concerned.” In a joint statement they warned the decision “risks undermining deterrence and sending the wrong signal to [Russian President] Vladimir Putin.”
They said any major changes to US force posture in Europe should be reviewed and coordinated with Congress and added the Department of Defense should engage with its oversight committees “in the days and weeks ahead” on the decision and its implications for US deterrence and trans-Atlantic security. The lawmakers also noted Germany has increased defense spending and provided access to bases and airspace for US operations related to the Iran crisis.
How did Germany respond?
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said the partial drawdown was expected and argued Europe must take more responsibility for its own security. He said Germany is “on the right track” by expanding its armed forces, speeding military procurement and building more infrastructure.
The US military presence in Germany began after World War II and peaked in the Cold War era. Germany hosts a number of key US facilities, including US European Command in Stuttgart, a major medical center in Landstuhl and Ramstein Air Base, which serves as a hub for US operations. US nuclear weapons are also stationed in the country. A US defense official told The Associated Press that withdrawing 5,000 troops is unlikely to affect combat power significantly but is “very different” in terms of messaging about US commitment.
Impact will be felt in the long run
Trump has repeatedly threatened to reduce troop numbers in Germany, and it is not yet clear which bases or operations would be affected by the current decision. Analysts say while the change could spur Germany to assume a stronger role within NATO, it also creates a sizeable gap that will be difficult to fill quickly.
Marina Miron, a military analyst at King’s College London, said US troops in Germany serve as a deterrent against threats such as Russia, and their withdrawal leaves a gap Germany cannot rapidly replace despite increased funding. Sudha David-Wilp, senior vice president of external relations and a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund in Berlin, said the US presence in Europe aids US force projection and that scaling back risks straining relations at a time when Germany has been collaborating as a “trustworthy, capable partner” on challenges in the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific.
Edited by: Louis Oelofse