Lawmakers from both parties are criticizing the Trump administration’s plan to remove nearly 12,000 US soldiers from Germany.
Senator Mitt romney
Willard (Mitt) Mitt RomneyTrump Tests Republican Party Loyalty with Election Tweet and On The Money Stimulus Strategy: GDP Shrinks by Record Amount in Second Quarter Amid Virus Blocks | Unemployment claims increase for second consecutive week | McConnell Begins Fight for Unemployment Benefits Overnight Defense: Pompeo Lobbed in Movement to Pull Troops Out of Germany | Panel abruptly dismisses confirmation hearing | Trump meets the family of the murdered soldier MORE (R-Utah) criticized the move as a “serious mistake,” while senator Ben sasse
Benjamin (Ben) Eric SasseTrump tests the loyalty of the Republican Party with an electoral tweet and an encouragement strategy. Defense overnight: United States to withdraw 11,900 soldiers from Germany | Troops Shuffle Cost ‘Several Billions’ of Dollars | Lawmakers plan to cut bread | Trump says he has not discussed the alleged rewards with Putin’s lawmakers. (R-Neb.) He said President Trump
Donald John Trump Trump campaign cancels purchase of ads to review messaging strategy: Nunes report declines to respond if it received information from Ukraine lawmaker meant to harm Biden poll: plurality of ‘Generation Z’ voters says who see more Trump political announcements than Biden MORE shows a “lack of strategic understanding”.
“Again, now with sentiment: US troops are not stationed around the world as traffic police or welfare workers; they are restricting the expansive targets of the world’s worst regimes, primarily China and Russia,” said Sasse it’s a statement.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich PutinPompeo says the United States warned Russia about threats to the Americans Wall Street Journal rips Trump for withdrawing troops from Germany Overnight Defense: United States to withdraw 11,900 troops from Germany | Troops Shuffle Cost ‘Several Billions’ of Dollars | Lawmakers plan to cut bread | Trump says he has not discussed alleged rewards with Putin MORE “They are reckless, and this withdrawal will only embolden them,” added Sasse. “We should lead our allies against China and Russia, not abandon them. The withdrawal is weak. “
Both Republicans and Democrats have been backing down since the first reports appeared last month that Trump was on the verge of a massive cut in Germany, but the latest comments come after the Secretary of Defense. Mark Esper
Mark Esper Defense overnight: Pompeo lobbied to pull troops out of Germany | Panel abruptly dismisses confirmation hearing | Trump meets the family of the murdered soldier The Pentagon alters training material referring to protesters, to journalists as the Senate panel of ‘adversaries’ rejects the confirmation hearing for the controversial Pentagon nominee at the last minute PLUS He completed the details of a plan that he said would help the United States deter Russia, against criticism.
Right now, some 36,000 American soldiers are stationed in Germany, which is home to the headquarters of the European and African American commandos.
According to the plan outlined by Esper on Wednesday, around 11,900 soldiers will leave Germany. About 5,600 of them will move to other places in Europe, while about 6,400 will return to the United States.
For those returning to the United States, many will turn around and make rolling deployments in Europe, Esper added.
Esper launched the movement as a strategic realignment of forces that had been in process for months, saying that Trump’s decision in June simply accelerated the process.
But Trump has repeatedly branded the measure as punishment by Germany that fails to meet NATO’s goal of countries spending at least 2 percent of their gross domestic product on defense.
On Wednesday, moments after Esper argued that the reduction is about strategy, Trump reiterated that he is doing it to penalize Berlin.
“We are reducing the force because they are not paying their bills,” Trump told reporters as he left the White House. “It is very simple. They are criminals.”
Democrats quickly launched. Rank Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Sen. Bob Menendez
Robert (Bob) Menéndez VO Visa Decision May Hinder Venezuela’s Coverage Conclusion Koch-backed group urges Senate to oppose “bailouts” of states in new announcements MORE (DN.J.) said that “champagne should flow freely tonight in the Kremlin” and called on Republicans to “confront the president and end this abdication of his oath to protect the United States from foreign enemies and Domestic . “
Senator Jack reed
John (Jack) Francis Reed Overnight Defense: Pompeo Lobbied To Pull Troops Out Of Germany | Panel abruptly dismisses confirmation hearing | Trump reunites with family of killed soldier Senate panel rejects confirmation hearing for controversial last-minute Pentagon nominee Overnight Defense: United States to Withdraw 11,900 Troops from Germany | Troops Shuffle Cost ‘Several Billions’ of Dollars | Lawmakers plan to cut bread | Trump says he has not discussed alleged rewards with Putin MORE (DR.I.), the highest-ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, regretted that the former Secretary of Defense James Mattis
James Norman MattisLawyers set fire to Trump’s plan to remove 11,900 soldiers from Germany Are US-Japan relations on the rocks? Trump stirs as audience shrinks and ratings plummet MORE it may have been able to stop the reduction in the past, and said Wednesday’s announcement was “just an outline of an irrational and ill-conceived proposal.”
President of the Chamber’s Armed Services Committee Adam Smith
David (Adam) Adam Smith The Corona’s Virus Report: iBIO President and CEO Thomas Isett says developing a safe vaccine is paramount; US Tops 150,000 Coronavirus Deaths With About One Death Per Minute Night Defense: US To Withdraw 11,900 Troops From Germany | Troops Shuffle Cost ‘Several Billions’ of Dollars | Lawmakers plan to cut bread | Trump says he has not discussed the alleged rewards with Putin’s lawmakers. (D-Wash.), Meanwhile, he said he is “very concerned” about “an arbitrary limit” on the number of US troops stationed in Germany.
“According to the secretary’s own admission, this plan was not drafted in consultation with US allies or the military, but rather all parties, including Congress, were notified after decisions had already been made “Smith said in a statement. “The plan not only fails to take into account major logistical issues, questions about deterrence and implementation of the National Defense Strategy, and concerns about implications for United States efforts in Africa and elsewhere, but it will surely also have a significant cost to the department. ” “
Among Republicans, Romney, who often frustrates Trump in foreign policy, quickly criticized the move.
“The plan outlined by the administration today to remove thousands of US troops from Germany is a serious mistake,” Romney said in a statement. “It is a slap in the face of a friend and ally when we should come closer in our mutual commitment to deter Russian and Chinese aggression.”
Romney offered an amendment to the Senate version of the annual defense policy bill that sought to prevent a withdrawal from Germany, but the measure failed to win a vote.
However, the House version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) does include a bipartisan amendment aimed at blocking a reduction by requiring multiple certifications before it can move forward. The two versions of the bill must now be reconciled.
Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee Jim Inhofe
James (Jim) Mountain Inhofe Defense overnight: Pompeo lobbied in the movement to pull troops out of Germany | Panel abruptly dismisses confirmation hearing | Trump meets the family of the murdered soldier Senate panel rejects confirmation hearing for controversial last-minute Pentagon nominee Doug Collins questions Loeffler’s reliability in first TV ad MORE (R-Okla.), Who will be a key negotiator for the final version of the NDAA, is one of the few Republicans who supports the withdrawal from Germany. Inhofe first announced his support last week after being briefed by Pentagon officials and reiterated it after Esper’s announcement.
“As I said last week after I was informed, any plan to realign our position in Europe must maintain a strong presence forward, maintain the projection of force and care for our military families,” Inhofe tweeted on Wednesday. “The concept that @EsperDOD outlined today adheres to these principles.”
The leading Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Mac Thornberry
William (Mac) McClellan Thornberry Defense overnight: United States to withdraw 11,900 troops from Germany | Troops Shuffle Cost ‘Several Billions’ of Dollars | Lawmakers plan to cut bread | Trump says he has not discussed the alleged rewards with Putin’s lawmakers. Trump’s plan to withdraw 11,900 soldiers from Germany Former White House doctor Ronny Jackson wins the second round of Texas MORE (Texas) remains skeptical about the plan, but was quieter on Wednesday than in previous reviews. Thornberry organized last month a letter signed by most committee Republicans urging Trump to reverse course of withdrawing from Germany.
“The administration’s plans to redistribute US forces across Europe are complex and will have lasting consequences,” Thornberry said in a statement on Wednesday. “While some of the proposed measures clearly have merit, other aspects, such as arbitrary limits to the number of troops stationed in certain countries, remain problematic.”
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