Top Republicans on Friday condemned the Pentagon for canceling a U.S. troop deployment to Poland, an abrupt move that also appeared to catch Army leaders by surprise.
The decision, House Armed Service Committee members said, amounted to a gut punch to the NATO ally and to a Congress that has sought to beef up the U.S. presence in Europe. They made those frustrations clear at a hearing with Army officials, where the service's top civilian and uniform leaders had few answers about the rationale for the move and confirmed its last-minute timing.
"I just want to say this is a slap in the face to Poland; it's a slap in the face to our Baltic friends," Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said. “It’s a slap to the face of this committee.”
The blowback comes after lawmakers, European allies and even Pentagon staff were caught flat-footed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s decision to halt the long-planned nine-month rotation of 4,000 troops based in Texas.
The move is the latest in a rift between the Trump administration and Republicans on Capitol Hill who have been at odds over U.S. security interests in Europe. Lawmakers enacted limits on troop withdrawals from Europe last year amid concerns the administration would unilaterally scale back troops on the continent.
"We don't know what's going on here, but I can just tell you we're not happy with what's being talked about, particularly since there's been no statutory consultation with us," Armed Services Chair Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) said.
Lawmakers demanded Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and acting Chief of Staff Gen. Christopher LaNeve explain why the cancellation had occurred. The pair indicated the administration only made the decision in recent weeks and did not provide a rationale for it.
Their acknowledgment about the suddenness of the decision stands in contrast to the Pentagon’s public statement on the move. Acting Pentagon press secretary Joel Valdez said Thursday that the decision was “not an unexpected, last-minute decision.”
Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.), who pushed the Army leaders on the timeline, argued their testimony contradicts that public release.
"I don't see how [the Pentagon] statement can be true," he said.
LaNeve told lawmakers Friday that the decision to cancel the Army brigade's deployment was made after Hegseth’s office directed U.S. European Command chief Gen. Alexus Grynkewich to reduce troop levels on the continent. That decision was "relatively recent" and came "probably within the last two weeks," he said.
LaNeve also confirmed that some elements of the brigade and equipment were already in Europe or en route when Hegseth scrubbed the deployment.
Driscoll did not further explain the move, but said the Army was prepared to adjust its plans based on the "preferences" of regional commanders or the Defense secretary. "This is not meant to hide the ball, this is to say this type of conversation is going on throughout the year every single year," he said.
The Poland rotation is the latest decision to draw scrutiny from the defense hawk wing of President Donald Trump's party. The administration opted to remove 5,000 troops from Germany last month, a move that came after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the U.S. was "humiliating" itself with the Iran war. It also decided not to replace a brigade leaving Romania late last year.
Trump has long railed against European nations, arguing they have gotten a free ride off U.S. defense spending, although he's praised Poland as a “model ally” for its heightened military budgets.
The confluence of troop moves in Europe have been read by some of Trump's allies on Capitol Hill as undermining NATO — and Congress.
"I may not represent 100 percent of people on this committee, but I think I represent the views of the vast majority," Bacon said of the Poland troop cancellation. "We disagree."
The panel's top Democrat, Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, argued Army leaders should be able to give a straight answer to lawmakers.
"The only answer I've got is, 'Well, that's what they told us to do.' Okay, why?" Smith told the Army brass. "If there's some strategy behind it, then you guys ought to know and you ought to be able to communicate it to us."
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