Canceled rotations earlier in the month intensified the uncertainty
President Donald Trump said Thursday that the United States will send an additional 5,000 troops to Poland, a move that confused everyone and appeared to reverse or complicate earlier efforts by his administration to "reduce the number of American service members stationed across Europe".
The announcement comes one week after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth halted a scheduled deployment of a combat team expected to rotate through Poland, as well as other countries, including the Baltic states and Romania. In that earlier decision, the Pentagon cited frustration with European allies, saying they have “not stepped up when America needed them.”
It also follows a separate announcement earlier this month in which Trump said the United States would withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany. That decision drew sharp reactions, including from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who had said earlier the United States was being “humiliated” in its Iran-related posture.
But in describing the Poland move, Trump framed the deployment as rooted in a personal relationship rather than a military realignment. Posting on X, he said he was sending the additional forces to Poland based on the outcome of the election of Warsaw’s right-wing populist president, Karol Nawrocki—an endorsement Trump said he had backed.
Despite the announcement, it remained unclear where the additional 5,000 troops would come from or how the figures would alter overall US troop levels across Europe. The sudden change added to uncertainty around America’s posture on the continent, especially after Trump criticized NATO allies that he said did not provide sufficient support or speak out against the administration’s Iran policy.
Polish officials, however, sought to limit the scope of the disruption. Poland’s foreign minister, Radosław Sikorski, thanked Trump for an “announcement that the presence of American troops in Poland will be maintained more or less at previous levels,” telling reporters that “all’s well that ends well.”
Poland’s defense minister, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, also indicated that the country would not lose US personnel. Speaking to reporters, he said Poland was “certainly not losing” its current presence—roughly 10,000 soldiers—according to Reuters.
At the NATO foreign ministers meeting in Sweden, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the troop movements should be understood in the broader context of ongoing adjustments. “Any decision that’s announced is viewed through the broader context of some of the frictions,” Rubio said, but added that “it’s well understood in the alliance” that US troop presence in Europe will be “adjusted,” with the work already underway in coordination with allies.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said he welcomed the announcement, describing NATO’s direction as moving toward a “stronger Europe and a stronger NATO” that is “less reliant on one ally only.” After the meeting, he declined to provide details on whether the United States might reduce troop availability in a crisis, citing classification.
As a NATO member and a primary hub for military aid supporting Ukraine, Poland has long been central to US force posture in Europe. In 2023, the US established the US Army Garrison Poland, and US forces in the country are typically around 10,000.
While the Pentagon directed questions to the White House, the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNN.
Trump’s remarks were also met with praise from Warsaw. Nawrocki thanked Trump on X, calling the US-Poland alliance “a vital pillar of security for every Polish home and for all of Europe,” and said “good alliances” are built on “cooperation, mutual respect, and a commitment to our shared security.”
Canceled deployments earlier in the month intensified the uncertainty
The latest announcement follows a flurry of abrupt changes. Last week, Hegseth canceled two scheduled deployments to Europe and ordered the removal of other personnel from the continent, cutting the number of US troops in Europe by roughly 5,000.
According to defense officials, a memo signed by Hegseth stopped the planned rotation of the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, which was expected to move through Poland and other countries.
Some members of that brigade were already in Europe and were ordered to redeploy to the United States. The memo also canceled the future deployment of a battalion specialized in long-range rockets and missiles and directed that a Europe-based command overseeing those capabilities be removed from the continent.
Defense officials said the canceled brigade included roughly 4,700 soldiers, and the long-range rocket and missile battalion included more than 500 personnel.
The decision to cancel deployments without consulting Congress drew criticism from some lawmakers, including Republicans who said Poland was “blindsided.” Representative Don Bacon called Hegseth’s actions “reprehensible,” saying it was “an embarrassment to our country what we just did to Poland.”
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