Hegseth ‘prepared huge cuts to US troops in Europe but was overruled by Trump’
- US defence secretary Pete Hegseth planned to announce further cuts to the US military presence in Europe before Donald Trump was forced to intervene, according to a report.
- Mr Hegseth, 46, had expected to tell Nato’s top military chiefs during a meeting last month that Washington was preparing to scale back its positioning in Europe, people familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal.
- But that announcement, which would have come amid backlash over earlier withdrawals, was shelved after secretary of state Marco Rubio and other senior administration officials got wind, the people said.
Unverified
- US defence secretary Pete Hegseth planned to announce further cuts to the US military presence in Europe before Donald Trump was forced to intervene, according to a report.
- Mr Hegseth, 46, had expected to tell Nato’s top military chiefs during a meeting last month that Washington was preparing to scale back its positioning in Europe, people familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal.
- But that announcement, which would have come amid backlash over earlier withdrawals, was shelved after secretary of state Marco Rubio and other senior administration officials got wind, the people said.
Sources: The Independent