Republicans in Congress are threatening to resist a proposed defense restructuring by the Trump administration, which might lead to the US giving up its command of NATO forces in Europe.
The senior Republicans on both the Senate and House Armed Services Committees, Roger Wicker and Mike Rogers, expressed their disapproval in a remarkable joint statement, cautioning that the proposed change could “risk undermining American deterrence worldwide.”
This statement marks a rare instance of congressional Republicans pushing back since Donald Trump returned to the presidency, following an NBC report indicating that the Pentagon is contemplating relinquishing the role of Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), a position held by an American general since NATO’s inception in 1949.
The anticipated restructuring might also entail merging the separate US military commands for Europe and Africa into a unified command structure located in Germany, as well as halting plans to bolster American forces in Japan as part of a military expansion in the Far East.
Wicker and Rogers emphasized that such modifications would not be accepted without Congressional oversight, which holds the “power of the purse” as designated by the US Constitution.
“US combatant commands represent the forefront of American warfare,” they stated. “We are therefore very concerned about reports suggesting that the Department of Defense is contemplating unilateral actions on critical strategic matters, including substantial reductions to US forces stationed overseas, without proper coordination with the White House and Congress.”
“We will not agree to significant changes in our warfighting framework made without a thorough interagency process, collaboration with combatant commanders, and cooperation with Congress. Such actions jeopardize American deterrence globally and weaken our negotiating power with adversaries.”
Trump has already hinted at refusing to defend any NATO member under attack—an obligation rooted in NATO’s Article 5—if that member is perceived to have failed to meet its defense spending commitments.
The two congressional leaders affirmed their support for Trump’s calls for NATO allies to increase defense spending “to fortify our alliance,” adding pointedly: “We support the continuation of America’s leadership on the global stage.”
According to the Punchbowl news website, the statement reflects longstanding discontent among Republican defense hawks with the Trump administration. This marks a notable shift from the Republican Party’s otherwise subdued acceptance of the White House’s encroachment on congressional spending authority over the past two months since Trump resumed office, during which Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” has instituted severe cuts to governmental operations.
The plans originate from proposed 8% cuts to the Pentagon budget introduced by Pete Hegseth last month.
Defense analysts and retired generals assert that ending the SACEUR role would represent a broader withdrawal from the US leadership position within NATO, which Trump has frequently criticized.
“For the United States to abandon the SACEUR position would send a significant signal in Europe that we are distancing ourselves from the alliance,” remarked retired Admiral James Stavridis, who previously held the position and led European Command from 2009 to 2013, during an NBC interview.
“It would be a colossal political error; once we relinquish that role, it is unlikely we would reclaim it… This would likely be interpreted, quite correctly, as the first step toward a complete withdrawal from the alliance.”
The current SACEUR commander, General Chris Cavoli, will conclude his three-year term this summer. This position has traditionally been held by four-star US generals since Dwight Eisenhower, the Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in World War II and a later Republican president, first assumed it. Other notable figures include Alexander Haig, who also served as White House Chief of Staff and US Secretary of State.
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