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GOP lawmakers fume over pulled troop rotation in Poland: A ‘slap in the face’

by Ellen Mitchell - 05/15/26 6:53 PM ET

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by Ellen Mitchell - 05/15/26 6:53 PM ET

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GOP lawmakers fume over pulled troop rotation in Poland: A ‘slap in the face’

Republican lawmakers were ‘not happy’ over the Pentagon’s seemingly last-minute decision to cancel the temporary deployment of 4,000 troops to Poland, grilling Army leaders.

“We don’t know what’s going on here, but I just tell you we’re not happy with what’s being talked about, particularly since there’s been no statutory consultation with us,” House Armed Services Committee Chair Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) told Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and acting Army Chief of Staff Gen. Christopher LaNeve during a hearing.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth this week ordered the cancellation of the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team’s deployment to Poland, an unexpected development that came amid a rift over the Iran war between President Trump and European allies.

Under questioning from Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.) on Friday, Driscoll said the rotation had been canceled “just a couple days ago,” while LaNeve said the decision was made in the “last two weeks.”

Neither man could give an answer as to why.

“These are major decisions that appear to many of the members of this committee to be last-minute decisions,” Scott said.

Polish officials, like lawmakers in the U.S., were “blindsided” by the decision, according to Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), who said he received a call from the country on Thursday about the cancellation.

“They called me yesterday, they did not know, they were blindsided,” Bacon told Driscoll and LaNeve. “These are some of our best allies, and they had no idea. They still don’t know what the plan is.”

Making matters more confusing, some elements of the unit had already been sent to Europe, with equipment in transit, according to the general.

Bacon said he knew the decision did not lie with Army leaders, but he derided it as “a slap in the face to Poland; it’s a slap in the face to our Baltic friends. It’s a slap to the face of this committee.”

Read the full report at thehill.com.

Welcome to The Hill’s Defense & National Security newsletter, I’m Ellen Mitchell — your guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond.

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