Diplomat reveals glaring issue in Trump's threat to pull troops from Germany

President Donald J. Trump greets U.S. Army General Vincent Brooks, United States Forces of Korea commander, after landing at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea, (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Alex Echols III/Released)

A former diplomat on Saturday detailed a glaring hole in President Donald Trump’s recent threat against Germany, noting the fate of troops in the European nation rests solely in the hands of one person — and they’re not named Trump.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Friday ordered the withdrawal of 5,000 troops from Germany, “to be completed over the next six to 12 months,” Reuters’ Phil Stewart reported.

The move comes amid increased tensions between the U.S. and Germany after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz suggested the U.S. is being “humiliated” by the war in Iran.

In response to Hegseth’s announcement, German defense minister Boris Pistorius called the U.S. withdrawal of troops from Europe “foreseeable.”

But Tom Malinowski, a former member of the House of Representatives who served as assistant secretary of state under former President Barack Obama, questioned the inevitability of such a withdrawal, noting the language of the National Defense Act hamstrings Trump administration's effort to pull troops form Europe.

“Under the most recent National Defense Act, Trump can't withdraw troops from Europe unless the commander of our forces there independently certifies to Congress that it won't hurt deterrence against Russia or U.S. [operations] in the Middle East [and] that allies have been consulted,” Malinowski wrote Saturday on X.

Malinowski noted that United States European Command (EUCOM) commander Gen. Alexus Grynkewich “will obviously be under pressure from Hegseth to back him up.”

“But general officers also have a unique legal obligation to answer questions from Congress honestly,” Malinowski wrote. “So this will be interesting if Congress does its oversight.”

As Malinowski noted, no amount of hand wringing from Trump can circumvent the text of the law.

“Oddly, the law doesn't mention the president's feelings being hurt as a factor in justifying potential troop withdrawals,” he quipped.

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