U.S. Senate passes defense bill to maintain USFK troop levels at 28,500 minimum
Published: 18 Dec. 2025, 10:05
![U.S. Stryker armored vehicles and Korean K200 armored vehicles cross a pontoon bridge during a combined U.S.-Korea arms maneuver crossing exercise in Yeoju, Gyeonggi, on Aug. 27. [YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/12/18/125c4cf2-e946-4053-a903-992969575704.jpg)
U.S. Stryker armored vehicles and Korean K200 armored vehicles cross a pontoon bridge during a combined U.S.-Korea arms maneuver crossing exercise in Yeoju, Gyeonggi, on Aug. 27. [YONHAP]
The U.S. Senate has passed an annual defense policy bill that includes a measure to restrict the government from unilaterally reducing the current troop level of the 28,500-strong U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), a week after the House of Representatives approved it.
The upper chamber approved the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2026 — from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30, 2026 — in a 77-20 vote Wednesday. The bill will become law after U.S. President Donald Trump signs it.
The bill says that amounts authorized under the act may not be obligated or expended to reduce U.S. troops in Korea, though it leaves open the door for the use of the funds following the certification that the USFK troop reduction is in the U.S. national security interest and that the action is being undertaken only after appropriate consultations with allies, including Korea.
The NDAA also restricts the use of Defense Department funds for the transfer of wartime operational control of the combined U.S.-Korea command. The bill bars the use of funds for any wartime operational control transfer that deviates from plans agreed to by the two countries. The restriction may be lifted only if the administration certifies to relevant congressional committees that the move is in the U.S. national security interest and that appropriate consultations have been held with allies, including Korea, Japan and the United Nations Command. The restriction is lifted 60 days after such certification is submitted.
The measure to restrict the USFK troop drawdown reappeared in the bill for the first time in five years. It was included in the NDAA during the first Trump administration in a move to help prevent a unilateral troop drawdown.
The bill authorizes $901 billion in military spending for the upcoming fiscal year. It allocates $291 billion for operations and maintenance, $234 billion for military personnel and health care, $162 billion for procurement, $146 billion for research and development, $34 billion for nuclear defense programs and $20 billion for military construction and family housing.
![The Camp Humphreys is seen in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, on Aug. 26. [YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/12/18/ddc58fe8-86c7-4034-a865-01d63474a61e.jpg)
The Camp Humphreys is seen in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, on Aug. 26. [YONHAP]
Congress passes it each year to set defense policy and funding priorities and give guidance on a range of key security matters.
The measure also includes provisions to constrain reductions of U.S. forces in Europe. It sets a principle that the Pentagon cannot significantly cut the roughly 76,000 U.S. troops stationed there without prior consultation with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies.
If the Department of Defense violates this rule for more than 45 days without allied consultation, the act directs an immediate freeze of 25 percent of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s operational and travel budget. The law still allows troop reductions if the United States demonstrates that the cuts serve U.S. national security interests and that NATO allies have agreed to them.
On China, the bill fully funds military exercises with U.S. allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific requested by the White House to counter Beijing’s growing influence. It also authorizes $1 billion for Taiwan cooperation projects to strengthen regional security partnerships.
The bill imposes new restrictions on U.S. investment in certain Chinese technologies. Lawmakers included provisions to prevent U.S. capital from supporting China’s development of AI and other military technologies.
![An F-16 fighter jet lands at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, on Aug. 18. [NEWS1]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/12/18/783d84de-b50e-4b4e-b090-a090558e84ec.jpg)
An F-16 fighter jet lands at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, on Aug. 18. [NEWS1]
The version that passed Congress excludes the Trump administration’s budget request to rename the Department of Defense the “Department of War.”
At the same time, it incorporates several priority items from conservative lawmakers. These include provisions to cut diversity and inclusion efforts and reduce climate change-related expenditures, projects that the Trump administration has linked to weakened combat readiness.
The bill also responds to a recent controversy over a U.S. military strike on Sept. 2 near Venezuelan waters targeting a vessel suspected of drug trafficking. It requires the Pentagon to provide Congress with detailed orders and unedited video footage of the attack.
BY KIM HYOUNG-GU, YONHAP [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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