The US Congress wants to block the massive withdrawal of US military personnel from Germany planned by sitting President Donald Trump.
That is stated in a bill for the US defence budget, on which the Democrats and Republicans in both houses in Congress reached an agreement on Thursday, writes the German newspaper, Die Welt.
The bill states that the US Secretary of Defense must state in a report to Congress whether such a withdrawal would be in the US national interest.
At the earliest 120 days after that, the number of US military personnel stationed in the Federal Republic should fall below the 34,500 marks.
Members of the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives and the Republican-dominated Senate agreed Thursday on the 4,500-page Defense budget package for the coming year.
Once passed by the two chambers of Congress, Trump must sign the law for it to take effect.