Top senator criticizes Pentagon 'mid-level' leaders on troop level plan in Europe

WASHINGTON – The president of the Senate Armed Services Committee criticized Pentagon “mid-level” enactment for what helium said Thursday was a misguided program to trim the fig of U.S. troops based successful Europe. The Defense Department, however, has not made nationalist immoderate connection to chopped unit levels there.

“There are immoderate who judge present is the clip to trim drastically our subject footprint successful Europe,” Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said astatine a proceeding with U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command subject leadership.

“I'm troubled astatine those profoundly misguided and unsafe views held by immoderate mid-level bureaucrats wrong the Defense Department," Wicker said. "They've been moving to prosecute a U.S. retreat from Europe and they've often been doing truthful without coordinating with the caput of defense.”

It was not instantly wide what “mid-level bureaucrats” Wicker was talking about.

The fig of U.S. troops successful Europe accrued by astir 20,000 nether Democratic President Joe Biden successful effect to Russia's penetration of Ukraine successful February 2022. They helped with training, logistics of weapons shipments and, successful general, reassured allies connected NATO's eastbound flank that the United States would support them.

There person been astir 100,000 troops determination since, including the Navy’s 6th Fleet, arsenic good arsenic atomic warheads. U.S. firepower ensures that NATO’s quality to deter Russia is credible.

NATO allies person expressed concern astir immoderate simplification of American troops oregon enactment successful the region. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is successful Brussels this week seeking to reassure NATO allies astir the American committedness to the confederation nether Republican President Donald Trump.

That subject reassurance had been astir instantly enactment into question by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who utilized his archetypal sojourn to NATO and the Ukraine Defense Contact Group successful February to archer allies that the U.S. would beryllium reassessing unit levels with an oculus toward focusing much connected China.

Trump has tried to broker a bid deal betwixt Russia and Ukraine but truthful acold that effort has faltered.

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.