President Donald Trump says the Pentagon is looking at withdrawing some of the nearly 40,000 American military personnel in Germany just days after the country’s leader sharply criticized the U.S.-led war in Iran.
Trump said in a social media post late Wednesday that the U.S. is “studying and reviewing” cutting back the American deployment of troops to Germany that has for decades served as a prominent component of NATO’s defense of Europe and has strong support on Capitol Hill.
Pentagon officials have recently praised Germany as a model NATO ally for boosting defense spending, which Berlin will raise to 3.7 percent of its GDP by 2030 — addressing a longstanding Trump complaint about European defense spending.
But German Chancellor Friedrich Merz angered the White House on Monday when he said the U.S. was being “humiliated” by Iran and that the administration had “no truly convincing strategy” to end the war.
Trump responded by lashing out at Merz the following day, writing that the German leader “thinks it’s OK” for Iran to have a nuclear weapon — one of his stated goals for the war launched with Israel on Feb. 28.
The White House declined to comment further on Trump’s TruthSocial post. NATO did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But a snap pullout of American troops from Germany would be riddled with political and logistical challenges.
There are 38,000 U.S. troops and personnel stationed in Germany, home to U.S. European Command. It is by far the largest deployment of American forces in Europe. It would be difficult to find another location on the continent with bases large enough to absorb American forces, though Romania and Poland have welcomed more U.S. deployments. The Pentagon has also already wrapped up its global review of U.S. military posture.
The move could also disrupt medium-term U.S. defense plans, as the U.S. also aims to place long-range Tomahawk land attack missiles in Germany by next year. Berlin has also requested Typhoon missile launcher systems. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is currently traveling in Germany and German defense chief Carsten Breuer was in Washington on Wednesday.
It’s also not likely to sit well on Capitol Hill, where top Republicans slammed Trump’s decision to pull out 1,000 U.S. troops from Romania late last year without consulting Congress. A move to limit U.S. deployments to Germany could also run up against legislation that limits withdrawals from Europe. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is set to testify Thursday before the Senate Armed Services Committee on the Pentagon’s new $1.5 trillion budget.
Trump ordered the withdrawal of 12,000 U.S. troops from Germany in July 2020 during his first term in office, but Congress pushed back against the move and the Pentagon was not able to complete it before President Joe Biden took office.
Trump’s warning on troops marks the latest instance of his casting aside relations with a NATO country to pursue his policy aims. He has repeatedly criticized European leaders who hesitated to support the U.S. war in Iran, and has threatened to withdraw the U.S. from NATO.
Trump’s threat comes a day after the president met with King Charles during his trip to the U.S., where he stressed the importance of prioritizing Europe’s security.
Paul McLeary contributed to this report.
