President Donald Trump on Thursday defended his decision to remove all U.S. military troops from Syria, calling the move “no surprise” and describing it in the verbiage of his “America first” philosophy.

The commander in chief surprised lawmakers of both parties Wednesday morning when he announced his move and declared victory against the Islamic State group inside the war-torn country. Senior national security aides on Wednesday afternoon were unable to describe any withdrawal plan or firm exit date as the Pentagon referred reporters to the White House and it referred them to the Pentagon for details that apparently were not crafted before the announcement.

His decision should have been “no surprise” to lawmakers, said a senior administration official who briefed reporters Wednesday afternoon. She declined to discuss whether Trump caught his Cabinet-level or White House national security officials off-guard or whether there had been internal discussions prior to Wednesday morning. And her boss sounded a similar message the next day.

[White House Shocked by Lawmakers’ Shock Over Trump‘s Syria Decision]

“Getting out of Syria was no surprise. I’ve been campaigning on it for years, and six months ago, when I very publicly wanted to do it, I agreed to stay longer,” he wrote in a tweet. “Russia, Iran, Syria & others are the local enemy of ISIS. We were doing there work. Time to come home & rebuild. #MAGA.”