WASHINGTON — The Republican chairmen of the House and Senate Armed Services Committee bashed the Pentagon’s Wednesday decision to remove hundreds of US troops from Romania — which shares a border with Ukraine — arguing the move clashes with the White House’s pressure campaign on Russia.
“This decision … sends the wrong signal to Russia at the very moment President Trump is applying pressure to force Vladimir Putin to come to the table to achieve a lasting peace in Ukraine,” Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) said in a joint statement.
“The President has it exactly right: now is the time for America to demonstrate our resolve against Russian aggression. Unfortunately, the Pentagon’s decision appears uncoordinated and directly at odds with the President’s strategy,” they added.
The troop pullout would not be the first time the Pentagon has taken unilateral action that contradicts Trump’s strategy for ending the war in Ukraine. US defense officials have previously tried to halt weapons shipments to Ukraine — only to be reversed once the president caught wind of the moves.
The Republican rebuke came after the Department of War announced it would not replace the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the 101st Airborne Division when the unit rotates to their Kentucky home base as scheduled.
While the Pentagon did not say how many troops would be affected, the Romanian Defense Ministry stated that Bucharest expects between 700 and 800 US forces to leave the country, with between 900 and 1,000 remaining.
The Pentagon denied that the move would “change the security environment in Europe,” arguing the pullback was appropriate because NATO allies could now do the job of US troops, thanks to “President Trump’s call [for them] to take primary responsibility for the conventional defense of Europe.”
“This is not an American withdrawal from Europe or a signal of lessened commitment to NATO and Article 5,” US Army Europe and Africa Command (USAREUR-AF) said in a statement. “Rather this is a positive sign of increased European capability and responsibility.”
While Rogers and Wicker acknowledged that “thanks to President Trump’s leadership, our European allies have agreed to shoulder historic levels of the burden of collective defense,” they said that drawing down the US presence too soon could cause the president’s progress to backslide.
“European rearmament will take time,” they said. “Pulling back US forces from NATO’s Eastern flank prematurely, and just weeks after Russian drones violated Romanian airspace, undermines deterrence and risks inviting further Russian aggression.”
The Pentagon decision was made without first consulting Congress, according to the Rogers and Wicker — which they called particularly concerning “given the clear bipartisan and bicameral support for a robust US posture in Europe expressed in both the House and Senate versions of the FY26 National Defense Authorization Act.”
“The legislation also makes clear the Congressional intent that no modifications be made to the U.S. posture in Europe absent a thorough review process,” they said.
The War Department is currently undertaking a force posture review, examining the US presence in Europe — estimated at between 80,000 and 100,000 troops — and elsewhere around the globe.
While officials have said the Pentagon has been considering lessening its presence in Europe, the findings of the review had not been expected to be announced until at least early next year.
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