The Senate has confirmed Elbridge Colby’s nomination to serve as the Pentagon’s undersecretary for policy, following a vote that largely fell along party lines.
The Senate vote on Tuesday resulted in a 54-45 confirmation, with former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) being the only Republican to vote against Colby’s confirmation. This confirmation comes after reports indicated that some Senate defense hawks had considered opposing Colby’s nomination due to concerns about his past statements on Iran.
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Democratic Senators Mark Kelly (AZ), Elissa Slotkin (MI), and Jack Reed (RI), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, crossed party lines to join Republicans in supporting Colby.
Senator McConnell, a frequent critic of President Trump’s “America First” foreign policy, expressed his reservations, arguing that Colby would not adequately address threats in the Middle East and Europe.
“Elbridge Colby’s long public record suggests a willingness to discount the complexity of the challenges facing America, the critical value of our allies and partners and the urgent need to invest in hard power to preserve American primacy,” McConnell said in a statement. “Abandoning Ukraine and Europe and downplaying the Middle East to prioritize the Indo-Pacific is not a clever geopolitical chess move.”
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McConnell further warned that Colby’s approach would be “geostrategic self-harm that emboldens our adversaries and drives wedges between America and our allies for them to exploit.” He also noted his previous votes against Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, citing similar concerns about their foreign policy views.
Vice President JD Vance, a known ally of Colby, introduced him at his confirmation hearing on March 4, praising his “incredible integrity and intellect.”
During the hearing, Colby pledged to implement President Trump’s “America First” vision of “peace through strength” in his role as the Pentagon’s third-ranking official.
“I am committed to implementing his [Trump’s] vision of a defense and foreign policy of putting Americans’ interests first and of peace through strength,” Colby told senators. “Peace and the protection of American interests in the world cannot be assumed. There is a real risk of major war, and we cannot afford to lose one. I recognize these realities in my bones.”
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Colby’s past views on Iran were also a point of discussion. While he has acknowledged the threat posed by a nuclear-armed Iran, he has also cautioned against military strikes, stating that they would be “very, very demanding and consuming.” He has long advocated for prioritizing the Indo-Pacific region to counter China’s influence.
Colby cleared the Senate Armed Services Committee panel in a private vote on April 1.
He previously served as deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and force development during the first Trump administration and played a key role in drafting the 2018 National Defense Strategy, which focused on the challenge posed by China in the Indo-Pacific.
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