US to withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is ordering the withdrawal of about 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany, the Pentagon announced Friday.

The move comes after President Donald Trump threatened to pull troops following remarks made by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz about U.S. war with Iran.

The withdrawal of these troops is expected to be completed over the next six to 12 months, according to the Pentagon.

“This 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,” Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement.

There are 38,000 U.S. troops in Germany.

Sen. Jack Reed, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, sharply criticized the move, calling it a “foolish decision,” in a statement.

“Withdrawing thousands of American troops from one of our most important strategic positions in the middle of a war is a serious mistake that will reverberate well beyond this moment,” Reed said in the statement. “Weakening our military footprint in Europe at a time when Russian forces continue to mercilessly attack Ukraine and harass our NATO allies is a priceless gift to Vladimir Putin and suggests American commitments to our allies are dependent on the president’s mood.”

A senior Pentagon official said the troop reduction would bring U.S. troop levels back to roughly pre-2022 levels and would consist of a U.S. army brigade combat team and other U.S. forces that are already in Germany.

In part, the official cited Trump’s frustration with European allies and “recent German rhetoric” as the reason for the move to withdraw troops.

On Monday, Merz publicly said that that the “Americans clearly have no strategy” on Iran and that the U.S. was being “humiliated” by Iranian negotiators.

In the days since, Trump has criticized Merz on social media, saying the chancellor should “spend more time on ending” the Russia-Ukraine war and “fixing his broken Country,” and said his administration was reviewing a possible reduction of U.S. troops in Germany.

Trump has repeatedly floated the idea of reducing U.S. troops in Europe and has recently criticized NATO allies for a lack of support in the U.S. war with Iran.

Last month, Trump met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the White House, which Rutte later characterized in a CNN interview as a “frank and open discussion” among friends. In that interview, Rutte said he understood Trump’s disappointment but said he pointed out that many European nations helped in other ways, including by providing logistics, basing and other support.

NATO’s response to the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran has been a persistent point of contention for the president, repeatedly taking aim at allies and questioning the alliance itself. 

While Trump has threatened to reduce U.S. troops in Europe — which have been a mainstay of American defense policy since the end of World War II — the National Defense Authorization Act for 2026 restricts the Pentagon from reducing troops levels in the European theater below 76,000 without the defense secretary certifying to Congress that it was a decision made in coordination with NATO allies.

The senior Pentagon official said the removal of 5,000 troops from Germany “sends a very clear signal about how important it is for Germany and other allies to take primary responsibility for Europe’s defense.”

The official said the withdrawal aligns with the Trump administration’s priorities on the Western Hemisphere and Indo-Pacific and will help restore readiness to the Army. Last year, the U.S. redeployed an Army brigade combat team from Romania. 

The Biden administration surged U.S. brigade combat teams in Europe in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, according to the official, who noted that the surge was always intended to be temporary.