Paweł Zalewski, Poland’s deputy defence minister, said the US planned to present options to Warsaw in the coming weeks on ways “not to decrease American engagement in Poland,” after meeting US officials at the Pentagon on Thursday.
Defending the decision, Anna Kelly, the White House spokesman, said: “President Trump appreciates all the secretary [Hegseth] has done — and will continue to do — in executing the America First agenda within our military and prioritising our warfighters like never before.”
“President Trump and Secretary Hegseth communicate constantly and are in lockstep regarding US troop movements in Europe,” Sean Parnell, the Pentagon spokesman, added.
The president’s decision adds to mounting discontent in Congress over the Trump administration’s repeated bypassing of legislators, including launching the Iran war.
The first briefings on the withdrawal by Pentagon officials to Congress reportedly started this week and were not conducted by senior-level political appointees.
There are currently about 80,000 US troops stationed in Europe, but the Pentagon is required to keep at least 76,000 troops and major equipment on the continent unless Nato allies are consulted and there is a determination that such a withdrawal is in the US’s interests.
Mike Rogers, the Alabama Republican representative who chairs the House armed services committee, said this week that legislators could take legislative action to create “guardrails” to prevent further troop withdrawals in Europe.