The Department of War announced Friday that the Trump administration will be pulling about 5,000 troops out of Germany after the country’s inaction to assist in the Iran war, particularly with securing the Strait of Hormuz.
The move comes after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz heavily criticized Trump speaking to students Monday, stating, “The Iranians are obviously very skilled at negotiating, or rather, very skilful at not negotiating, letting the Americans travel to Islamabad and then leave again without any result.”
“An entire nation is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership, especially by these so-called Revolutionary Guards. And so I hope that this ends as quickly as possible,” he added.
A War Department official described Merz’s rhetoric as “inappropriate and unhelpful,” stating, “the President is rightly reacting to these counterproductive remarks.”
Merz’s remarks, coupled with the fact that Europe relies heavily on energy flows from the Strait of Hormuz, while the U.S. does not, seem to have prompted the Trump administration to initiate a paradigm shift, curbing Europe’s reliance on U.S. troops to serve European interests.
“The President’s decision also sends a very clear signal about how important it is for Germany and other allies to take primary responsibility for Europe’s defense,” the official stated. “We’ve urged them to take a practical, business-like approach to building a Europe-led NATO — they didn’t take that advice, and this is the result. Now, we have an opportunity to get back to the basics and build a stronger, more sustainable alliance.”
The move involves a Brigade Combat Team (BCT), a long-range fires battalion planned by the Biden administration for deployment later this year, and “potentially other U.S. forces” in Germany, a senior War Department official stated.
The official also stated that “the Europeans have not stepped up when America needed them. This cannot be a one-way street,” noting, “the President has been very clear about his frustrations about our allies’ rhetoric and failure to provide support for U.S. operations that benefit them.”
“The Secretary of War has ordered the withdrawal of approximately 5,000 troops from Germany,” Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said. “This decision follows a thorough review of the Department’s force posture in Europe and is in recognition of theater requirements and conditions on the ground. We expect the withdrawal to be completed over the next six to twelve months.”
After the start of the war in Ukraine, the Biden administration increased the number of BCTs from three to five. The current move would reduce the number back down to three.
The officials said that the move comes after a months-long strategic analysis of force requirements in Europe. Merz’s comments seem to have put an emphasis on how unhelpful the Germans and others in Europe have been.
The officials noted the reduction will also come with a reprioritization of that theater back to the homeland, hemisphere, and Indo-Pacific.
Breccan F. Thies is the White House correspondent for The Federalist. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. As an investigative journalist, he previously covered education and culture issues for the Washington Examiner and Breitbart News. He holds a degree from the University of Virginia and is a 2022 Claremont Institute Publius Fellow. You can follow him on X: @BreccanFThies.
