On Thursday, President Donald Trump overruled Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth by ordering troops to Poland that the former Fox News personality had canceled, much to the surprise of high-ranking Pentagon officials.
According to the Wall Street Journal, along with countermanding Hegseth’s decision, the president gave him an earful about treating countries with close ties to his administration with greater respect.
"Based on the successful election of the now President of Poland, Karol Nawrocki, I am pleased to announce that the United States will be sending an additional 5,000 Troops to Poland," Trump wrote in a social media post.
Hegseth's earlier decision to cancel the Poland deployment surprised many Pentagon officials and drew immediate concern from Polish officials, who told The Journal they weren't consulted about the move. Republican and Democratic lawmakers condemned the cancellation as damaging to a key U.S. ally.
According to current and former U.S. officials, Trump confronted Hegseth in a recent phone call, demanding to know why the troop deployment to Poland had been canceled. Trump told Hegseth that the U.S. "should not treat Poland poorly given it is an American ally with close ties to the White House."
There are currently about 10,000 U.S. troops stationed in Poland. Trump's order to send an additional 5,000 represents a significant reinforcement of the U.S. military commitment to the country.
The move reflects Trump's transactional approach to alliances. Germany, not Poland, had criticized U.S. strategy in the Iran war, drawing Trump's ire. In early May, Trump responded to criticism from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz by ordering the withdrawal of 5,000 troops from Germany — a process the Pentagon said would take six to 12 months.
According to the report, frustration has been mounting in Congress over the Trump administration's bypassing of lawmakers on both the Iran war and troop withdrawals from Europe. Lawmakers and aides have been attempting to piece together the Pentagon's troop withdrawal plan.
Republican lawmakers have signaled they could take legislative action to preclude deeper force cuts in Europe by inserting provisions in Pentagon spending bills, including the National Defense Authorization Act, the report notes.
