Republicans Take Stand Against Reported Trump Admin Plan

The top two Republican lawmakers overseeing the Pentagon in Congress issued a rare joint statement Wednesday, voicing concern over a potential shake-up in U.S. military leadership by the Trump administration.

Newsweek reached out to the Pentagon by email and to NATO by submission form on Thursday morning for comment.

Why It Matters

The Trump administration has pursued aggressive cuts across the federal government to limit its scope and spending in order to make good on President Donald Trump's campaign promises.

Trump has earmarked an increase in domestic energy production and reduction in the federal government as two key components to help drive down inflation and tackle the cost-of-living crisis. No federal department has yet been spared from this scrutiny, including the Department of Defense.

What To Know

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in February issued a directive to senior Pentagon leaders and military personnel that they needed to plan for an eight percent reduction from the defense budget, which saw a modest increase proposed for financial year 2026 of about $6 billion.

President Joe Biden in December 2024 authorized a $895 billion defense spending bill for the fiscal year ending September 30. Hegseth's cuts would amount to roughly $50 million to $70 million in cuts.

However, the way in which the administration believes it can achieve these cuts has already chaffed two top Republicans—Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Representative Mike Rogers of Alabama, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.

The pair issued a joint-statement on Wednesday, referencing media reports suggesting the administration is considering changes such as relinquishing the U.S. role as NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe and cancelling plans to modernize U.S. Forces Japan to try and meet its goals.

The role, which has been held by a four-star U.S. general since its establishment in 1950, oversees all NATO operations in Europe. Sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters that while the idea has been considered, it may not be feasible, and no official announcement is expected at this time.

"We will not accept significant changes to our warfighting structure that are made without a rigorous interagency process, coordination with combatant commanders and the Joint Staff, and collaboration with Congress," Wicker and Rogers said in the statement.

"Such moves risk undermining American deterrence around the globe and detracting from our negotiating positions with America's adversaries."

Wicker noted in an earlier statement that the Biden administration had attempted to prevent budget increases but eventually agreed to a modest increase for fiscal year 2026, and they claimed that Hegseth's directive "merely re-starts that process, allowing the new administration to review the entire budget."

But by Wednesday, the two chairmen raised concerns about how the administration would achieve its goals. When reached for comment, a spokesman for the Senate Armed Services Committee directed Newsweek to the joint-statement.

Wicker and Rogers in their statement said they are "very concerned" about reports of "unilateral changes on major strategic issues, including significant reductions to U.S. forces stationed abroad, absent coordination with the White House and Congress."

They stressed their support for the administration's efforts to ensuring "allies and partners increase their contributions to strengthen our alliance structure," but that those must happen in collaboration with the relevant domestic authorities—chiefly, Congress.

What People Are Saying

Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi said in a statement earlier this week: "I have spoken with President Trump repeatedly, and he intends to deliver a desperately needed military rebuild and Pentagon reform agenda. This agenda requires significant real growth in the defense topline through the combination of reconciliation and annual spending."

"As I have said before, the Department of Defense desperately needs to re-arm and reform simultaneously. New growth in defense spending should be allocated strategically, as I outline in my document, 21st Century Peace Through Strength. And it must be paired with common-sense reforms, as I offer in another report called Restoring Freedom's Forge. The Senate Armed Services Committee will work aggressively to achieve both goals in 2025."

Former national security adviser John Bolton wrote on X, formerly Twitter: "During the Cold War, it was the Soviet objective to split the West. By Trump bringing Russia out of isolation and favoring it over Ukraine, and European NATO members saying they want independence from the U.S., we are heading toward achieving Moscow's long-standing objective."

Tom Malinowski, a former Democrat representative from New Jersey, wrote on X: "If the president of the United States was a genie in a bottle who offered Putin three wishes, on top of totally abandoning Ukraine, those wishes would be:

- Pull back from NATO
- End USAID
- Shut down Voice of America and Radio Free Europe

Trump's giving all for free."

What Happens Next

The administration will continue to seek cuts to achieve its goals, but has yet to respond to the statement from the two congressmen.

Update, 3/20/25 at 2:43 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information, context and comment.