The chairmen of the House and Senate Armed Services committees issued a joint statement saying they are "very concerned" after a report that the Trump administration is considering restructuring U.S. military combatant commands and headquarters, including surrendering the role of NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR).
NBC News reported Tuesday that among the Pentagon's possible plans is to give up a U.S. four-star general overseeing all NATO military operations in Europe, as has been the case for nearly 75 years.
House Armed Services Committee Chair Mike Rogers, R-Ala., and Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said Congress should be included when considering such significant U.S. military changes.
"U.S. combatant commands are the tip of the American warfighting spear. Therefore, we are very concerned about reports that claim DoD is considering unilateral changes on major strategic issues, including significant reductions to U.S. forces stationed abroad, absent coordination with the White House and Congress," Rogers and Wicker said in their Wednesday statement.
"We support President Trump's efforts to ensure our allies and partners increase their contributions to strengthen our alliance structure, and we support continuing America's leadership abroad. As such, 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. Such moves risk undermining American deterrence around the globe and detracting from our negotiating positions with America's adversaries."
An American military leader has overseen all NATO military operations in Europe since Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower in the aftermath of World War II.
Army Gen. Chris Cavoli is the current SACEUR. He has been the primary commander overseeing support to Ukraine in its war against Russia, NBC News reported.
If the U.S. does give up SACEUR, other NATO countries likely would need to choose a new commander.
Relinquishing SACEUR would, at the very least, be a major symbolic shift in the balance of power in NATO.
"For the United States to give up the role of supreme allied commander of NATO would be seen in Europe as a significant signal of walking away from the alliance," retired Adm. James Stavridis, who served as SACEUR and head of European Command from 2009 to 2013, told NBC News in an email.
"It would be a political mistake of epic proportion, and once we give it up, they are not going to give it back. We would lose an enormous amount of influence within NATO, and this would be seen, correctly, as probably the first step toward leaving the Alliance altogether."
President Donald Trump has suggested the U.S. leaving NATO unless other members start spending more on defense.
The NBC News report said the Pentagon's restructuring plan being considered also included consolidation of U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command into one command based in Stuttgart, Germany, and shuttering U.S. Southern Command headquarters in Florida and combining it with U.S. Northern Command.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.