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House Democrat says Germany troop withdrawal ‘no way to run a foreign policy’

by Ashleigh Fields - 05/03/26 4:20 PM ET

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by Ashleigh Fields - 05/03/26 4:20 PM ET

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Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) on Sunday criticized the Trump administration’s decision to withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany following a public spat with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

Last week, the German chancellor had said that Washington was being “humiliated” by Iran amid the closure of the Strait of Hormuz in remarks condemned by Trump.

Crow said, “it appears as though this decision was made because Donald Trump was upset by a comment made by the German chancellor, like he is getting emotional and angry about this, and he’s making really consequential troop decision- troop movement decisions based upon being upset by the comments of a foreign leader, which is no way to run a foreign policy,” during an appearance on CBS News’s “Face the Nation.”

“So, we’re looking into it, and we’re going to make sure that any movements, if they do occur, are actually in our interests,” the House Democrat added.

Crow cited a law passed by both the House and the Senate that outlines certain conditions for movement of U.S. troops around Europe.

Last year, President Trump signed the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which mandates a minimum U.S. troop presence of 76,000 in Europe.

This legislation restricts the Pentagon from reducing troop levels below this threshold for more than 45 days without submitting a formal assessment and certifying to Congress that the reduction does not harm U.S. or NATO security interests

Crow said, “we passed these laws out of grave concern for rhetoric by this administration in the past that they were going to draw down our presence in Europe, which is one of the most important troop footprints we have in the world that helps secure Europe, helps secure our economy, helps protect the hundreds of thousands of American citizens who live and work on the continent. So we are enforcing the law and the requirements.”

Trump attempted to reduce 12,000 troops in Germany during his first term; however, former President Biden blocked the measure after ascending to the Oval Office.

“It should be concerning to every American that you have the President of the United States, a commander in chief who’s going to move thousands of troops around just to get back at a foreign leader for a comment that he doesn’t like. But I’m not presumptively against troop movements, like if we need to move troops or brigades around to respond to national security issues, we should, by all means do that,” Crow said.

“That’s the prerogative of the commander in chief. When I was in the military, we would move forces around all the time. My point is, we actually have to make sure that this is being done according to the risks that our forces are facing, that it’s being done on the proper timeline, because moving troops and units around is very risky and exposes them to a variety of risks, and that it’s in the best interest of the United States,” he added.

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