The Trump Administration plan to withdraw 12,000 troops from US bases in Germany because of a claimed lack of defense spending by the host country has drawn immediate and vocal opposition from members of both parties, Roll Call reports.

Secretary of Defense Mark Esper announced the plan Wednesday would redeploy about half of the troops to Poland and NATO allies in the Black Sea region, while the others would continue through other rotations.

Trump seems to believe that spending obligations made by NATO members go into some bank account that would repay the US for its defense costs.  In fact, NATO members have pledged to spend at least 2% of each nation’s GDP on defense initiatives.  The 2% goal is a target for spending by 2024.  Germany spent 1.38% of its GDP on military in 2019.

No member of NATO has to pay into a fund, although Trump has repeatedly said Germany is not paying its “NATO fees.”

According to the Pentagon, the plan would cost in the “single-digit billions.”

“The plan outlined by the Administration today to remove thousands of U.S. troops from Germany is a grave error. It is a slap in the face at a friend and ally when we should instead be drawing closer in our mutual commitment to deter Russian and Chinese aggression,” Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Ut.) said in a statement Wednesday.

“Our military presence in Germany is the cornerstone of our relations with our NATO and European allies and we should strengthen those relationships, not weaken them,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Ca.) said.

“In Europe, the threats posed by Russia have not lessened, and we believe that signs of a weakened U.S. commitment to NATO will encourage further Russian aggression and opportunism,” the 21 republicans on the House Armed Services Committee wrote in a June letter to the White House, written by Rep. Mac Thornberry of Texas.