A senior official with the Trump administration told reporters on Tuesday that the president will announce a further drawdown of U.S. troops from Iraq.

The official also said President Trump’s Iraq announcement will be followed in a few days by unveiling the administration’s plan to further reduce U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

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During his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump unabashedly criticized prolonged U.S. military interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan, blasting Republican President George W. Bush and his predecessor, Democrat Barack Obama, for not getting America out of those wars.

Trump’s opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, voted for the Iraq War and has criticized Trump for wanting to withdraw from Afghanistan.

Trump is currently behind Biden in some polls ahead of the November election. Some speculate this announcement is to show voters that he is delivering on his promise to end what he has called America’s “endless wars.”

According to Reuters, “The United States has around 5,200 troops that were deployed in Iraq to fight the Islamic State militant group. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said last month that the United States was expected to reduce the number of its troops in Iraq by about a third in the coming months.”

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There are currently around 8,600 troops stationed in Afghanistan. During an interview last month, President Trump told Axios that he wanted to cut that number by more than half, to about 4,000.

Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz (FL) tweeted on Tuesday, “@realDonaldTrump is the first POTUS since Reagan not to start a new war.”

“Many in the Pentagon, Congress and military-industrial complex hate him for it,” Gaetz wrote. “They use endless wars to drive profit as we spill the blood of our patriots. @POTUS honors troops by honoring their lives.”

In contrast, Joe Biden has supported nearly every military adventure during his nearly 50 years in politics.

On Sunday, a veteran confronted Biden about his Iraq war vote and said of his fallen fellow soldiers who fought in that war and in Afghanistan, “Their blood is on your hands.”

This piece originally appeared in ThePoliticalInsider.com and is used by permission.

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