White House Blocks Pentagon Plan to Cut European Troops

A secret Pentagon plan to drastically cut U.S. troop numbers in Europe was halted at the last minute by the White House, according to The Wall Street Journal. The move risked alienating NATO allies and comes as the alliance considers canceling its 2027 summit in Albania.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly intended to announce major troop reductions in Europe during a meeting in Brussels last month. Sources in Washington suggest these cuts would have gone far beyond previous decisions, such as canceling the deployment of an armored brigade to Poland or withdrawing an infantry brigade from Romania.

The White House intervened after the plan reached National Security Advisor Marco Rubio and other key officials. Hegseth ultimately announced only that the U.S. would re-evaluate its military presence on the continent, a process expected to take six months. A Pentagon spokesperson, Sean Parnell, stated that Hegseth ensured his message aligned with the president's agenda without limiting strategic options.

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The United States spends by far the most money in NATO to protect others, without choosing any benefit from it.

U.S. troop levels and allied defense budgets are key topics for an upcoming NATO summit in Turkey, where President Trump is expected to meet with alliance leaders. While NATO officials hope the summit will project unity and support for Ukraine, there are fears that tensions with Trump could overshadow the event. These disagreements have fueled speculation that the 2027 NATO summit, initially planned for Albania, might be canceled.

Trump has publicly stated that the U.S. spends the most on NATO without receiving proportional benefits. The Pentagon's strategy already signaled a shift toward reducing its European presence to focus resources on the Western Pacific and Western Hemisphere, expecting European nations to assume greater responsibility for their own defense. Hegseth's ambitions have already caused diplomatic friction, with his abrupt decision to cancel the rotation of an armored brigade to Poland drawing criticism in the U.S. Congress and angering Polish officials who reportedly learned of the move through the media.

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Secretary Hegseth ensured only that his message respected the president's line and agenda, without limiting his strategic options.