WSJ: White House blocked Hegseth plan to announce deeper US troop cuts in Europe at NATO meeting

According to Lianhe Zaobao citing The Wall Street Journal, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth planned to announce further reductions of US forces stationed in Europe at a NATO defense ministers’ meeting in Brussels in June, but the proposal was rejected by senior White House officials, including National Security Adviser Marco Rubio, people familiar with the matter said. Instead, Hegseth said in Brussels that the US would conduct a review of its Europe force posture, a process that could last up to six months. The report said Hegseth’s planned cuts would have exceeded previously announced moves, including canceling the deployment of an armored brigade to Poland and withdrawing an infantry brigade from Romania. The White House referred a request for comment to the Defense Department; Pentagon chief spokesperson Sean Parnell said Hegseth sought to align his remarks with President Donald Trump’s goals and did not want to limit the president’s decision-making. A NATO leaders’ summit is scheduled for July 7-8 in Ankara, where Trump is expected to attend, with US troop deployments in Europe and allied defense spending expected to be key topics.