Washington—Representative Eliot L. Engel, Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, today issued the following statement in response to President Trump's dangerous decision to withdraw thousands of U.S. troops from Germany:

“Anyone who wonders why Putin was Trump’s number-one booster should look no farther than the body blow Trump dealt Germany and NATO today. A few years ago, it would have been impossible to imagine that the President of the United States would be Russia’s greatest asset in its effort to weaken NATO, but the Trump years have taught us that there’s nothing this President wouldn’t do to please Putin—especially if he’s able to stick it to an actual democratic leader, Angela Merkel, at the same time.

“The U.S. presence in Germany is a pillar of security in Europe and serves as a critical launch platform for American operations in the Middle East, Africa, and all around the world. This action will scatter some American forces across Europe. Others will return to the United States at a cost of billions as we are forced to recreate our bases, installations, and training grounds elsewhere. Our allies and partners will rightly feel betrayed. Putin will of course feel emboldened. And the world will know that American commitments aren’t worth the paper they’re written on. With less than six months left in Trump’s presidency, I hope NATO and the U.S.-Germany relationship will hold on.

“And whatever condemnations we hear from my friends on the other side of the aisle about this, we need to be very clear: they’re rooting for four more years of this.”

Background:

In June, Chairman Engel introduced the Maintaining United States National Security Interests in Europe Act, bicameral legislation to restrict funding for the implementation of President Trump's reckless plans to withdraw some U.S. forces from Germany.