Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby has pulled off something almost impossible in modern Washington — he’s managed to get nearly everyone, across both parties and even overseas, irritated with him.
Some of President Donald Trump’s staunchest loyalists say Colby has shut them out of major Pentagon decisions. U.S. allies are quietly venting that he brushes aside their input. And Senate Republicans are now openly scolding him for his leadership.
The spat broke into the open last week during two Senate confirmation hearings for members of Colby’s team, when senior GOP lawmakers berated him for leaving them in the dark. It marked the culmination of months of friction between the policy chief and lawmakers from both parties.
The uproar also underscored an increasing ideological split in the GOP between its Reaganite defense hawks and a growing wing of restraint-oriented Republicans, which includes Colby, who question traditional U.S. military commitments.
“You know who the hardest guy to get ahold of in the Trump administration is? The undersecretary of defense for policy,” Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) said. “He came to [the Senate Armed Services] committee and said, ‘Hey, I’m going to work with the Congress.’ He hasn’t — on big issues.”
Colby is the intellectual standard-bearer for a GOP faction that argues Washington must focus its military power on deterring China, even if that means scaling back in Europe and the Middle East. He has spent years warning that over-investing in Ukraine weakens readiness in Asia. His critics — including many traditional defense hawks — argue that this approach risks emboldening Russia and undermining longstanding U.S. commitments abroad.
But that friction led to concerns this summer from parts of the White House and among allies that he was acting largely on his own accord, especially in halting some shipments of air defense missiles to Ukraine.
Fellow Republicans say they’ve been blindsided by a slew of decisions influenced by Colby that they oppose. Prominent lawmakers, such as Senate Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), have warned the Pentagon is undercutting national security with moves to remove U.S. troops from Romania, conduct a Pentagon review of a major nuclear-powered submarine pact, pause some Ukraine assistance and slash aid to the Baltic nations.
The Pentagon rejected the idea that Colby’s shop has ignored Congress, noting he’s held dozens of classified and unclassified briefings for lawmakers and remains in regular contact with them. Colby’s allies in Congress also dismiss the criticism as ideologically motivated.
“The department values its relationship with the Hill,” Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said in an email, arguing the policy office is “as responsive and transparent as possible.”
The dustups come as the Pentagon readies its National Defense Strategy, an outline of the department’s priorities that Colby’s office is leading. The document is expected to prioritize protecting the homeland and the Western Hemisphere.
Wicker lamented at a recent hearing that “there really hasn’t been any consultation with the Congress” on the updated strategy. “That’s really not the way it’s supposed to work,” he said.
More than a half dozen diplomats interviewed in Washington and Europe also complain that the Pentagon’s once steady consultations have slowed as Colby’s office crafts that strategy, along with a review of troop locations worldwide.
That uncertainty deepened after the Pentagon quietly decided not to replace a rotational Army brigade in Romania, Hungary and Slovakia — a move the Romanian government learned of only two days before it was announced, according to a U.S. defense official and a Romanian official.
One NATO diplomat — who, like others interviewed about the situation, was granted anonymity to speak candidly — called the rollout “an unwelcome surprise.”
Wicker has singled out Colby’s office for seeking to remove U.S. troops from Europe without buy-in from allies and Congress. He often makes that distinction when criticizing administration policies: Trump has the right idea, but freelancing by officials lower down in the administration creates confusion and undermines national security.
Alexander Velez-Green, Colby’s nominee for deputy, used his confirmation hearing to push back on the idea that officials want to abandon U.S. commitments abroad.
“We do need to stay engaged in very important and critical ways in Europe and in the Middle East, alongside allies and partners who are stepping up,” he said. Democrats have their own frustrations about Colby and the lack of transparency around Pentagon decision-making. Only three Senate Democrats voted to confirm him in April, including top Senate Armed Services Democrat Jack Reed of Rhode Island.
Senators say they want a constructive relationship with the Pentagon’s top policy planner. But they have stressed the rift can’t be repaired overnight and should involve consultation with Congress ahead of major decisions.
“This is going to require a change in a mindset,” Wicker said.
Colby may be hearing the message. Sullivan said he had a “very constructive” meeting with Colby last week after publicly slamming him. The Alaska Republican, who used the meeting to advocate for Arctic security as a defense strategy priority, said senators want Colby to put them on speed dial to rebuild their confidence.
The office of Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a senior Armed Services Committee member and Trump ally, also heard from Colby’s team after an exchange at a recent hearing about the Pentagon’s focus on China.
Lawmakers have leverage if the situation doesn’t change. The Armed Services Committee is considering four nominees to the Pentagon’s policy shop and could stall their confirmation. That includes Velez-Green, picked to be Colby’s deputy, and Austin Dahmer, nominated to be assistant secretary for strategies, plans and capabilities, who both testified last week.
Pentagon policy legislation passed by the House and Senate also aims to restrict the administration from significantly reducing the U.S. military footprint in Europe, requiring officials make a case that the move is in national security interests. The two chambers still need to reconcile the legislation, although the language will likely remain.
Colby’s allies see the pushback on Colby as a purely policy-driven dispute.
“The foreign policy view over the last 30 years is losing steam, and a lot of people know that,” Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), one of Colby’s most vocal defenders, said. “And that’s why I think that a lot of people will go after undersecretary Colby and others, because they understand that’s their view.”
Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), during last week’s hearing, pressed Velez-Green over a Ukraine aid pause that caught Congress flatfooted.
Velez-Green denied there was a halt, blaming “reporting [that] was completely inaccurate,” which prompted Cramer to cite a Pentagon news release that referred to the “pause.”
“I don’t want to say he lied, but it was very frustrating to listen to,” Cramer said afterward in an interview. “Maybe there’s confusion about the term ‘pause.’”