U.S. Army M1A2 Abrams tanks move through the Hohenfels, Germany, training area May 17, 2025, during an exercise. Under the National Defense Authorization Act for 2026, the Pentagon would not be allowed to shift away any big-ticket pieces of military hardware valued at more than $500,000 from Europe. (Deliah Cottle/U.S. Army National Guard)
STUTTGART, Germany — Attempts to make big cuts to U.S. troop levels in Europe would require extensive consultations with Congress and NATO allies under an updated policy bill released Sunday, which includes new provisions aimed at preventing the Pentagon from making abrupt force posture changes.
The National Defense Authorization Act for 2026, which could come up for a vote later this week, would prohibit the Defense Department from using funds to make drastic changes to U.S. European Command before meeting a long list of mandates to justify such a move.
Reducing troop levels in Europe to fewer than 76,000 personnel, transferring any U.S. military facility to a host nation or handing over any big-ticket pieces of military hardware valued at more than $500,000 are among the moves that wouldn’t be allowed under the bill.
The legislation also says the Pentagon can’t relinquish U.S. leadership of NATO’s top military job, known as Supreme Allied Commander Europe, without first submitting reports to validate such action.
The legislative provisions come at a time of uncertainty over the future of the U.S. military in Europe, where some allies are anticipating significant changes in troops levels as the Pentagon nears completion of a force posture review that was launched soon after President Donald Trump took office in January.
While Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth hasn’t said major cuts are coming to the European force, he and other Pentagon leaders have emphasized that other NATO members must shoulder more of the security burden in Europe. And the White House’s new national security strategy released last week also reinforced that bolstering defenses closer to the United States and countering China in the Pacific are the top security concerns.
Soldiers from the 21st Theater Sustainment Command conduct a pass-and-review during a ceremony at Sembach, Germany, on July 30, 2025. Attempts to make big cuts to U.S. troop levels in Europe would need extensive consultations with Congress and NATO allies under the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act. (Kadence Connors/U.S. Army)
However, any move to alter the EUCOM mission dramatically likely will face resistance in Congress, which has a history of bipartisan support for military efforts aimed at backing NATO and bolstering defenses to deter Russian aggression on the Continent.
If the Pentagon wants to reduce troop levels, it must detail how that is in the national security interest of the U.S. and how it consulted with all 32 members of the NATO alliance, the NDAA states. An analysis would be required to explain how adjustments to the force posture would affect NATO warfighting plans and the alliance’s ability to deal with Russian hostilities.
Also, the Pentagon would need to coordinate any reduction with allies to ensure that “other members of NATO have available capabilities and capacity to assume the roles and responsibilities of the United States Armed Forces to be withdrawn as a result of such action,” the NDAA states.
Pentagon leaders would need to detail the costs associated with repositioning troops and equipment as well as analyze whether a reduced U.S. role on the Continent could lead to nuclear proliferation.
In Europe, there is uncertainty about the ability of allies to defend against a Russian attack without significant U.S. support. While allies have stepped up defense spending levels in recent years, numerous capability gaps remain, according to numerous defense analysts.
For example, Europe will need to field 50 new combat brigades and some 300,000 troops to offset what the United States would be expected to contribute in the event of a Russian attack, according to an analysis by Bruegel, a Brussels-based think tank, earlier this year.
To prevent a rapid Russian breakthrough in the Baltics, for example, Europeans would need a minimum of 1,400 tanks, 2,000 infantry fighting vehicles and 700 artillery systems, the February report said.
“This is more combat power than currently exists in the French, German, Italian and British land forces combined,” the report stated.
