President Donald Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth defended the White House decision to cut U.S. infantry troops in Romania, a move that has sparked backlash from Congress and concerns among NATO allies on the eastern flank of the alliance.
The shift matters now because it comes amid heightened tensions with Russia and the ongoing war in neighboring Ukraine, raising questions about the U.S. commitment to European defense.
The Trump administration announced that approximately 800 infantry brigade troops would be withdrawn from Romania, Slovakia, Hungary and Bulgaria, although about 1,000 U.S. soldiers will remain deployed in Romania.
The adjustment, the Pentagon says, is part of a rotation change, not a reduction in overall U.S. force levels.
President Trump, during a meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, told reporters: “We make changes. We move, it’s the same number, total number, but we move people around. I happen to like the Romanian people. I think they’re great people.”
According to Reuters, Hegseth said the decision was coordinated with NATO, U.S. European Command, and the White House.
“There will remain troops in Romania,” he told reporters, adding that allies were notified in advance. The Pentagon said the move “is not an American withdrawal from Europe or a signal of lessened commitment to NATO and Article 5,” but a sign of “increased European capability and responsibility.”
Still, the move triggered sharp criticism on Capitol Hill. Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and House Armed Services Committee Chair Mike Rogers, R-Ala., argued that Congress was not properly briefed ahead of the announcement.
“I think all of us would like to have more information on how the decision was made,” Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., said during a recent hearing.
Meanwhile, in Bucharest, Romania’s State Secretary for Defense, Sorin Moldovan, called the decision “not a good sign” for U.S.-Romania relations and said it “should be overturned,” warning that it could embolden Russian propaganda narratives about NATO disunity, Politico reported.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte downplayed the decision during his visit to Bucharest, noting that such troop adjustments “take place all the time” and that “we can always scale up collectively, including in Romania,” according to Reuters.
A NATO spokesperson added that the alliance was in “close contact” with Washington and that the U.S. presence in Europe “remains larger than it has been for many years.”
Romanian officials said the timing of the move was politically sensitive.
Moldovan added that the operational capacity would remain unchanged, but “the political symbolism is a bit weird to have right now.”
The statement reflects concern that reducing visibility of U.S. troops, even temporarily, could send the wrong message to Moscow as Russian aircraft continue testing NATO airspace along the Black Sea coast, The Washington Post reported.
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