The US House of Representatives in Washington D.C. has passed a far-reaching defense bill that stipulates a minimum number of US troops in Europe – and is thus intended to secure the conventional deterrent effect of the United States against potential adversaries.
The more than 3,000-page draft of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) obliges President Donald Trump’s government not to permanently reduce the number of US soldiers stationed in Europe below 76,000. The bill now goes to the Senate for further deliberation.
According to the Pentagon, there are currently around 100,000 US soldiers in Europe, of which around 65,000 are permanently stationed and the rest on a rotational basis. In future, the administration could temporarily go below the 76,000 soldier mark – but for no longer than 45 days.
The Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, emphasized that the new guidelines ensure that the US armed forces “remain the most lethal in the world and can effectively deter any adversary”.
The law also contains transparency requirements for US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. He is obliged to submit video recordings of operations against suspected drug smuggling boats in the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific to Congress. A quarter of his travel budget is to be frozen until the footage has been released in full.
For the 2026 financial year, the NDAA provides for a defense budget of around 901 billion US dollars – the equivalent of around 770 billion euros. This is eight billion dollars more than the Trump government had originally requested.
Provisions on Ukraine remain controversial within the Republican parliamentary group: only around 400 million US dollars have been earmarked for weapons procurement for Kiev in 2026.
Here for further reports on the US armed forces.
