Trump's party colleagues rebel Top Republicans criticize US troop withdrawal from Germany
US President Donald Trump's announcement to withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany has been met with criticism from leading Republicans. The location is also important for the USA itself - members of Congress see the USA's deterrence capability at risk.
03.05.2026, 19:41
03.05.2026, 19:42
dpa
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- The US government wants to withdraw at least 5,000 soldiers from Germany, although the location is also important for the US itself.
- Resistance is stirring in the ranks of the Republicans.
- In a joint statement, Republicans Roger Wicker and Mike Rogers declared: "We are very concerned about the plans to withdraw a US brigade from Germany."
Influential Republicans from both chambers of Congress have reacted with skepticism to the planned partial withdrawal of US troops from Germany. "We are very concerned about the decision to withdraw a US brigade from Germany," said Senator Roger Wicker and Representative Mike Rogers in a joint statement. Rogers chairs the committee responsible for the armed forces in the House of Representatives, Wicker the one in the Senate.
Germany has responded to President Donald Trump's demands and significantly increased its defense spending. In addition, Germany has shown itself to be very cooperative in the Iran war, for example with regard to overflight rights, the statement continued.
Republican MP Don Bacon also reacted indignantly to the troop withdrawal. He wrote on Platform X: "We are behaving like petulant children. We should be thinking long term and strategically. Reflexive reactions and pettiness do not serve our national security interests."
Wrong signal to Putin
The allies are already spending more money - but until this results in an effective deterrent, the USA should maintain a presence on the ground, according to Rogers and Wicker. A hasty reduction would risk weakening the deterrent and sending the wrong signal to Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin. "Instead of withdrawing troops completely from the continent, it is in the US interest to maintain a strong deterrent presence in Europe by redeploying these 5,000 US troops eastward," they suggest.
The two members of Congress also say that the Pentagon will not be sending a battalion for the deployment of long-range weapons to Germany, contrary to what had been planned. The US government has not yet provided any official information on this. Trump's predecessor Joe Biden had promised at the 2024 NATO summit to station medium-range weapons with conventional warheads in Germany.
Trump wants to withdraw "far more" than 5,000 soldiers
In the meantime, Donald Trump has reaffirmed the withdrawal of US soldiers from Germany. "We're going to cut back a lot, a lot more than 5,000 (soldiers)," he said at the airport in Palm Beach, Florida, in response to a reporter's question. On Friday, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ordered the withdrawal of 5,000 US soldiers from Germany. This should be completed in the next six to twelve months.
According to the US military, 86,000 soldiers are currently stationed in Europe as of mid-April - 39,000 of them in Germany. The number changes regularly, partly due to rotations and exercises. The figure of 5,000 soldiers is therefore not considered particularly serious. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Trump maintained a fairly good relationship for months. With regard to the Iran war, however, the chancellor has become increasingly critical in public.
During a recent discussion with students, he said that the USA would not be able to end the war quickly "because the Iranians are obviously stronger than expected and the Americans obviously do not have a really convincing strategy in the negotiations either". Trump then attacked Merz personally: "He has no idea what he's talking about!" he wrote on the Truth Social platform.
Dozens of US military bases in Europe
There have been dozens of large US military bases in Europe for decades. They are of great importance for American missions in the Middle East, for example. In Germany, for example, these include the US High Command for Europe in Stuttgart and the US Air Force hub at Ramstein Air Base in Rhineland-Palatinate.
"No reason to panic, but another wake-up call"
In Germany, reactions to the US announcement were mixed. In Rhineland-Palatinate, concern dominated. "It's not just about cooperation in the area of security policy," said Minister President Alexander Schweitzer (SPD). "It is also a question of economic policy that the stationing forces are here."
The Chairman of the Defense Committee in the Bundestag, Thomas Röwekamp (CDU), told the "Rheinische Post" that a possible withdrawal of troops on this scale was "no reason to panic, but a further wake-up call".
SPD parliamentary group deputy leader Siemtje Möller told "Welt am Sonntag" that the announcement of a partial withdrawal was "without strategy" because the USA benefited considerably from the troop presence in Germany. Green Party leader Franziska Brantner told the news portal "t-online" that the announcement shows "how dangerous it is to rely on Trump on defense issues".
Left Party parliamentary group leader Sören Pellmann told Welt am Sonntag: "Military operations are being carried out from German soil that are incompatible with the peace principle of the Basic Law. Every soldier who leaves Germany is therefore a step in the right direction." AfD defense politician Jan Nolte spoke of a rather symbolic step "that does not change NATO's deterrence capability in Europe".
