Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was preparing to announce sweeping additional cuts to U.S. troops in Europe at a NATO meeting last month, but the plan was blocked after it reached Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who also serves as President Trump’s national security adviser, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
Hegseth had intended to tell NATO military chiefs in Brussels that the U.S. was preparing further reductions beyond the withdrawal of an armored brigade from Poland and an infantry brigade from Romania that had already been canceled, people familiar with the matter told the Journal. But the proposal was shelved after being shared with Rubio and other senior officials.
The blocked plan reflects tensions within the Trump administration over the pace and scope of military reductions in Europe. In May, Hegseth had already ordered the withdrawal of roughly 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany over the next year, a move that sparked concern among NATO allies about American commitment to European defense.
Instead of announcing deeper cuts, Hegseth announced on June 18 a six-month Pentagon review of U.S. force posture and basing in Europe. “I’m announcing today a six-month Department of War Review that will examine America’s forced posture and basing in Europe,” Hegseth said at the NATO Defense Ministers meeting in Brussels, according to reporting on his remarks. The review will include consultations with Congress and will examine whether current troop levels align with the Pentagon’s strategic priorities.
The review’s outcome will depend partly on how NATO allies respond to Trump administration demands. Hegseth warned that allies failing to meet a 5 percent GDP military spending target could face reduced U.S. support. The move signals the administration’s intent to pressure European nations to take greater responsibility for their own defense, even as it holds back on the more dramatic reductions Hegseth had originally proposed.
Rubio’s intervention highlights the delicate balance the administration is attempting to strike between Trump’s skepticism of long-standing military commitments abroad and concerns from senior officials about abruptly destabilizing the NATO alliance. The six-month review provides a way to delay more controversial decisions while maintaining the appearance of reassessing America’s European footprint.
Sources
- Wall Street Journal — reported that Hegseth prepared a plan for additional troop cuts that was blocked after being shared with Rubio and other senior officials
- Breaking Defense — confirmed the May 2026 withdrawal of 5,000 troops from Germany
- CBS News, Washington Post, Bloomberg, Reuters, Defense News — reported on the June 18 announcement of the six-month Pentagon review of U.S. forces in Europe
