The top Republicans on the House and Senate foreign affairs committees today expressed concern over a possible Pentagon plan to draw down US troops in Africa, which could impact plans to fight terror in Tunisia and Morocco.

“Partner militaries are underfunded and ill-equipped to respond to this drastic increase in violence,” Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch of Idaho and the ranking minority member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Michael McCaul of Texas, said in a letter sent to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper. “That is why our limited, yet focused presence across Africa, is so important. US forces train and advise partner nations and support improved intelligence collection, building their capacity to ultimately defend their own countries.”

Why it matters: The Pentagon’s review of its posture, which aligns with Esper’s overall goal of sending more US troops to counter China’s rising influence in the Asia-Pacific, will eventually extend to Africa and the Middle East, where the United States has added 10,000 troops since the new year to deal with tensions with Iran. House and Senate leaders are pushing back hard, and are likely to use a Thursday posture hearing with US Africa Command chief Gen. Stephen Townsend to air their protests in public.

Rising tide: Risch and McCaul join a high-profile chorus of congressional voices that have already pushed back on whispers of troop cuts in Africa.