US Rep. Rich McCormick (right) [captured from LinkedIn]
US Rep. Rich McCormick (right) [captured from LinkedIn]

Concern over Donald Trump's decision to sharply scale back joint US-South Korea military exercises has emerged from within the president's own Republican Party. Rep. Rich McCormick, a Republican member of the House Armed Services Committee, questioned the decision to reduce the drills and urged that they be restored.

Appearing Saturday on Bloomberg's weekend program "Bloomberg This Weekend," McCormick said he hopes the reduction is temporary. "I hope this is a temporary measure," he said, commenting on Trump's decision to curtail the joint exercises.

He said the United States must ensure that South Korea "maintains a closer relationship with us," adding that Seoul's ties with countries that are "basically going to go communist" should not be allowed to grow closer than its relationship with Washington.

McCormick, a former military physician who said he spent time alongside South Korean troops during overseas service, described integration with foreign allies as "very good for our power projection."

He said South Korea shares a similar worldview with the United States. "They pursue one enemy, one fight," he said.

McCormick nonetheless stopped short of directly criticizing Trump, saying the president has access to far more information than he does. "I don't know exactly what factors influenced this decision," he said.

Earlier, Trump directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Sunday via social media to "drastically reduce" the scale of joint US-South Korea military exercises, saying he was unhappy that the United States had long agreed to participate in the drills. "Considering that Chairman Kim Jong-un and I have a very good relationship," Trump wrote, "I don't like the fact that the United States has agreed to participate in joint military exercises with South Korea for a long time."

US and South Korean military authorities ended the Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) CPX on Friday — five days into what had been scheduled as an 11-day exercise running from Monday through Aug. 27. Some field maneuver exercises were also scaled back.

Trump expressed opposition to joint US-South Korea exercises during his first term as well. Shortly after the 2018 Singapore summit between the United States and North Korea, he described the drills as "provocative" and abruptly announced a halt to large-scale joint exercises.


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