US to cut 5,000 troops in Germany amid Trump, Merz row

The US Department of Defense is considering withdrawing 5,000 troops from Germany, amid a row between President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the war with Iran.

The move comes a day after Trump criticized Merz, who suggested the United States had been “humiliated” by Iranian negotiators.

The United States has a significant military presence in Germany, with more than 36,000 active-duty troops assigned to bases across the country as of last December.

Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told the German Press Agency in Berlin that “the presence of American soldiers in Europe, and in particular in Germany, is in our interest and in the interest of the United States.”

At the same time, he clarified that this decision was not a surprise.

The fact that the United States would withdraw its troops from Europe and Germany “was predictable,” he said.

In social media posts Thursday, Trump said Merz was “doing a terrible job” and had “all kinds of problems,” including on immigration and energy. Trump also suggested withdrawing U.S. troops from Italy and Spain.

In a statement, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the order regarding U.S. troops in Germany came from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

“This decision follows a thorough review of the department’s force posture in Europe and is a recognition of theater requirements and conditions on the ground,” he said.

“We expect the withdrawal to be completed over the next six to 12 months.”

Trump, a longtime critic of the NATO alliance, has attacked his allies for their refusal to participate in operations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Asked Thursday whether he would also consider withdrawing U.S. troops from Italy and Spain, Trump replied: “I probably will — look, why not?”

“Italy has been no help to us and Spain has been horrible,” he added, criticizing their response to the war in Iran.

“In every case, they said, ‘I don’t want to get involved.'”

Merz told university students earlier this week that “the Americans clearly have no strategy” and that he did not see “what strategic exit” they could choose.

“The Iranians are obviously very adept at negotiating, or rather very adept at not negotiating, letting the Americans go to Islamabad and then leave without any results,” he said.

He added that “the entire nation” was “humiliated” by Iranian leaders.

In response, Trump used his Truth Social platform, where he said Merz thought it was “acceptable that Iran has a nuclear weapon” and “doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”

“No wonder Germany is doing so badly, both economically and otherwise!” the message read.

The BBC has contacted the German embassy in Washington for comment.

The US military deployment in Germany is by far the largest in Europe, with around 12,000 troops in Italy and another 10,000 in the UK.

Many are stationed at Ramstein Air Base, outside the city of Kaiserslautern in southwest Germany.

Trump has already proposed reductions in US troops in Germany, but these have not yet taken effect.

Only Japan hosts a larger American military presence.

In 2020, a proposal to move 12,000 U.S. troops from Germany to other NATO countries in Europe or to the United States was blocked by Congress and then canceled by President Joe Biden.

At the time, Trump accused Germany of being “delinquent” because its military spending was well below NATO’s target of 2% of economic output (GDP).

But this has changed dramatically under the Merz government.

Germany is expected to spend €105.8 billion (£91 billion) in 2027 – with total defense spending expected to reach 3.1% of GDP next year.

Last year, the United States decided to reduce its troop presence in Romania, as part of Trump’s plan to shift American military engagement from Europe to the Indo-Pacific region.

The Romanian Defense Minister said the decision was taken after Hegseth made it clear to Romanians that they needed to pay more attention to their own defense.

The decision sparked disapproval from some of Trump’s Republican colleagues in Congress, as well as concern from other Eastern European countries wary of Russia.

Additional reporting by Bethany Bell