GOP lawmaker likens DOD plan to withdraw troops from Germany to 'lipstick on the pig'

The Trump administration's controversial plan to withdraw thousands of U.S. troops from Germany drew bipartisan criticism during a House Armed Services Committee hearing today, with Ranking Member Mac Thornberry (R-TX) comparing the Pentagon's plan to putting "lipstick on the pig."

President Trump announced in July that 12,000 U.S. troops would be relocated from Germany, reducing the level of U.S. presence there from 36,000 to 24,000. The bulk of the troops are slated to return to the United States, while others are meant to be deployed elsewhere in Europe.

The decision also means that U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command will need to re-locate from their longstanding headquarters in Stuttgart.

Lawmakers have criticized the move as the product of presidential impulse, rather than part of the Pentagon's National Defense Strategy.

At today's hearing, James Anderson, the acting under secretary of defense for policy, said the troop withdrawal is "wholly in line with the NDS." But he was criticized by lawmakers for being unable to discuss the decision in detail or explain why Germany and other European allies have complained about being blindsided by the move.

Thornberry, the committee's top Republican, said he believed Defense Secretary Mark Esper had to adjust to Trump's decision after it was made.

"A couple of staffers in the White House decided they wanted to try to sell the president on an absolute troop cap for Germany," he said. "They clearly hadn't thought through the consequences and what's happened is Secretary Esper and the folks at the Pentagon are trying to put lipstick on the pig."

Committee Chairman Adam Smith (D-WA) said he agreed with Thornberry and noted the fiscal year 2021 defense authorization bill set to be negotiated between the House and Senate contains a provision that would restrict Trump's ability to withdraw U.S. troops from Germany.

"I don't think this plan was particularly well thought out," Smith said.

Meanwhile, Trump, who has had a tense relationship with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, said in August he is moving the troops because he doesn't want the United States to be the "suckers" in its military arrangement with Germany and said Berlin was "delinquent" in paying for its own security. NATO nations have agreed to spend 2% of their gross domestic product on defense, but many member countries, including Germany, have yet to reach that level.

"We're reducing the force because they're not paying their bills," Trump said at the time. "It's very simple, they're delinquent.”

Still, Anderson said the decision to withdraw the troops from Germany has a sound strategic basis.

Both Smith and Thornberry acknowledged the idea for repositioning U.S. troops elsewhere in Europe could have some merit, but they said the decision was made far too haphazardly and without close coordination with allies.

"There needs to be an overall strategic plan coordinated with allies rather than have a bunch of rationalizations after the fact," Thornberry said.