US Lawmakers Condemn Pentagon’s Canceled Troop Deployment to Poland as ‘Unlawful’

US lawmakers from both major parties have strongly criticized the Pentagon after it abruptly canceled the planned deployment of thousands of American troops to Poland, a key NATO ally in Central Europe bordering Ukraine.

The anger follows confirmation that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has halted a routine rotational deployment of about 4,000 US soldiers from Texas.  

The troops were scheduled for a nine‑month tour in Poland, which plays a central role in NATO’s military presence on the alliance’s eastern flank. 

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the decision followed a “comprehensive, multilayered process” and was not sudden. But several lawmakers rejected that explanation. 

“This is baloney,” Don Bacon, a Republican Congressman, wrote in an X post responding to Parnell. “For starters Poland was not notified. Senior leaders contacted me yesterday saying they were blindsided.” 

‘We’re not happy’

Speaking during a House Armed Services Committee hearing on May 15, Bacon said: “This is a slap in the face to Poland; it’s a slap in the face to our Baltic friends. It’s a slap to the face of this committee.” 

Committee chairman Mike Rogers, a Republican, said Congress had not been properly consulted. “We don’t know what’s going on here, but I can just tell you we’re not happy,” he said. 

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Democratic representative Eugene Vindman said the cancellation appeared to breach US law. He argued Congress had set a minimum level of US forces in Europe and that the Pentagon had failed to meet legal reporting requirements before acting.  

Vindman described the move as politically driven and poorly considered, adding that there was strong bipartisan support in Congress for maintaining US troop levels in Europe. 

Another senior Democrat, Adam Smith, told Poland’s PAP state news agency that the decision was deeply frustrating and likely unlawful, though he expressed uncertainty about how Congress could formally force the Pentagon to reverse course beyond sustained political pressure. 

The cancellation of the planned deployment to Poland has heightened concerns about US reliability within NATO at a time of elevated security tensions in Europe amid Russia’s war in Ukraine.