US defence secretary Pete Hegseth planned to announce further cuts to the US military presence in Europe before Donald Trump was forced to intervene, according to a report.
Mr Hegseth, 46, had expected to tell Nato’s top military chiefs during a meeting last month that Washington was preparing to scale back its positioning in Europe, people familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal.
But that announcement, which would have come amid backlash over earlier withdrawals, was shelved after secretary of state Marco Rubio and other senior administration officials got wind, the people said.
Since Trump’s return to office, the Pentagon chief has urged Europe to shoulder more of the financial burden for its defence as the US shifts its focus towards Asia.
On Friday, Trump blasted the “one sided” relationship with the military alliance, attacking partners he said “were not there for us” in the past ahead of a Nato summit in Ankara next week.
In a Truth Social post, the president posted a graphic showing how US spending dwarfs that of Europe.
But intervening in any further cuts to troop provision would suggest the administration is not wholly agreed on the scope and pace of their withdrawal from Europe, according to the WSJ.
In mid-June, Mr Hegseth announced a six-month review of the US military footprint in Europe.
He told fellow ministers in Brussels that the review would consider troop levels, military access and look at all US bases across Europe.
While he did not explicitly comment on reductions in US force deployments in Europe, he stressed the goal would be to prompt the continent to do more while ensuring the US military would be able to meet its global commitments.
Two US defence officials told the Associated Press last month that the military was still waiting for clarity from the Pentagon, warning that changes to soldier numbers could cost taxpayers millions.
The Trump administration says troop reductions in Europe have long been planned and coordinated with allies. But a threat to pull 5,000 soldiers from Germany came after chancellor Friedrich Merz described the US as being “humiliated” by Iran.
Nato allies were then stunned in May when Trump said he would send 5,000 troops to Poland, in apparent reversal of his earlier threat.
The US clashed with several European allies over access to airbases during the war with Iran, with the Pentagon considering options to punish those seen to have not supported its operations early enough.
Nato leaders agreed last year to boost defence-related spending to five per cent of GDP by 2035. But allies have raised concerns about the rate at which the Trump administration is pulling back with Russia still in Ukraine.
An internal memo from Hegseth early last year said the US was unlikely to provide substantial, if any, support to Europe in case of Russian military advances, according to the Washington Post.
The United States established a permanent presence in Europe in the 1940s as a counter to communism as allies rebuilt from the horrors of World War II.
Recent US presidents, both Republican and Democrat, have diverted resources to the Pacific to challenge a rising China.
