President Donald Trump doubled down this weekend on his surprise decision to withdraw 5,000 troops from NATO ally Germany, putting him on a collision course with top Republicans who are alarmed by the sudden move.

Trump defied lawmaker objections over the initial move, which came amid friction with Berlin over the U.S.-Israel war with Iran. “We’re going to cut way down, and we’re cutting a lot further than 5,000,” he told reporters in Florida Saturday.

That’s at odds with Senate Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker and House Armed Services Chair Mike Rogers, who last year led legislation to block such a reduction. In a statement over the weekend, they said that they are “very concerned” by the reduction and that Pentagon leaders must come to Congress to explain.

“We expect the [Defense] Department to engage with its oversight committees in the days and weeks ahead on this decision and its implications for U.S. deterrence and transatlantic security,” they said.

They proposed moving those forces to allied Eastern European nations that have “made substantial investments to host U.S. troops” to better serve U.S. interests. Poland is the biggest-spending and most proactive host for U.S. troops, but the lawmakers did not list specific countries.

Trump’s latest attempt to reduce America’s commitment to European security comes after the president lashed out at Germany’s chancellor over his criticism of the U.S war with Iran. Trump, who launched the war without warning NATO allies, has accused them of not providing enough help.

The 2026 National Defense Authorization Act prohibits the Pentagon from reducing the number of U.S. troops permanently stationed or deployed in Europe below 76,000 for more than 45 days unless Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the head of U.S. European Command certify to Congress that such a move serves U.S. national security interests and that NATO allies have been consulted.

Rogers and Wicker argued that Germany “has stepped up in response to President Trump’s call for greater burden sharing, significantly increasing defense spending and providing seamless access, basing, and overflight for U.S. forces in support of Operation Epic Fury” — the military’s name for its conflict with Iran.

The decision to withdraw troops from Germany received blowback from lawmakers in both parties. Sen. Ruben Gallego, an Arizona Democrat, said it undermines NATO and that lawmakers would “invoke” legislation barring the move.

“We actually put in legislation … that you could not pull out troops from Germany and even from Europe without these certain steps, which we’re going to invoke,” Gallego said on stage at the Sedona Forum, a conference hosted by the McCain Institute, an organization founded by the late Sen. John McCain.

The Trump administration’s plan is to remove a brigade and cancel the planned rotation of a long-range fires battalion, whose job is to provide artillery deep into enemy territory.

Lawmakers condemned the move as a boon to Russia, which is at war with Ukraine and has recently harassed NATO allies with airspace incursions and other tactics that fall short of war.

Republican Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, a former Air Force general who once commanded U.S. troops in Germany, noted that America’s military presence in Germany isn’t only about protecting that country. It includes an intel hub and offers U.S. forces a waypoint to the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere in Europe.

“It probably pleases Russia,” he said on the sidelines of the Sedona Forum. “It’s like playing checkers blindfolded. The word that comes to me now is ‘petulant.’ NATO is the most successful alliance in history, and this undermines it.”

Sen. Jack Reed, the ranking member of the chamber’s Armed Services Committee, called the decision to withdraw troops strategically “reckless” and “a serious mistake.”

“Weakening our military footprint in Europe at a time when Russian forces continue to mercilessly attack Ukraine and harass our NATO allies is a priceless gift to [Russian President] Vladimir Putin and suggests American commitments to our allies are dependent on the president’s mood,” he said.

It would make sense for the U.S. to reevaluate the kinds of forces it needs in Europe for strategic reasons, perhaps concentrating more modern drone and counter-drone forces and moving troops to the Middle East for the Iran war, said Kurt Volker, a former NATO ambassador. The military may take the opportunity to make such a move.

“The president is out there venting; he’ll do that,” Volker said. “I’m sure there’s a way to make this actually make sense.”