WASHINGTON — President Trump’s nominee for a high Pentagon place, Elbridge Colby, was confirmed by the Senate on Tuesday in a bipartisan vote, regardless of issues amongst some Republicans over his dovish views on Iran and lukewarm assist for Ukraine.
Colby, 45, was confirmed in a 54-45 vote to be Below Secretary of Protection for Coverage, with three Democrats crossing the aisle in assist and Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky the one member of his celebration to oppose.
Sens. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) and Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), together with Armed Companies Committee rating member Jack Reed (D-RI), backed Colby, who cleared the Armed Companies panel in a closed-door vote final week.
A detailed pal of Vice President JD Vance, the brand new third-ranking Pentagon official will now be tasked with briefing Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth, implementing Trump’s Nationwide Safety Technique and creating Protection Planning Steerage for army packages, price range requests and different coverage issues.
Throughout Trump’s first administration, Colby had been the architect of the 2018 Nationwide Protection Technique, which performed a task in shifting the US army focus towards China.
“Abandoning Ukraine and Europe and downplaying the Middle East to prioritize the Indo-Pacific is not a clever geopolitical chess move,” McConnell stated in a press release following the vote.
“It is geostrategic self-harm that emboldens our adversaries and drives wedges between America and our allies for them to exploit.”
Vance ripped the longest-serving Senate Republican chief in US historical past shortly after.
“Mitch’s vote today—like so much of the last few years of his career—is one of the great acts of political pettiness I’ve ever seen,” the vp posted on X.
Throughout Colby’s affirmation listening to final month, different Senate Republicans had questioned whether or not protection decide was downplaying the “existential” menace from Iran because of his major deal with China.
“Let’s talk about a nuclear Iran,” stated Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), who leads the Senate Intelligence Committee and in addition sits on the Armed Companies panel. “I have some concerns about what you’ve said in the past.”
Colby responded that “a nuclear-armed Iran” posed an existential hazard given Tehran’s nearness to producing atomic weapons — and affirmed that he would advise Hegseth and Trump to make use of “credible and realistic” army alternate options to cease the theocracy.
“We know they’ve worked on [Intercontinental Ballistic Missile]-range capabilities and other capabilities that would pose an existential danger to the United States,” Colby answered Cotton throughout his listening to.
Trump has introduced a “very big meeting” to be held Saturday between US and Iran officers in hopes of avoiding what he known as “the obvious” army different.
“Trump wants a new deal: End Iran’s regional influence, dismantle its nuclear program and halt its missile work. These are unacceptable to Tehran,” one senior Iranian official fired again on Tuesday.
Colby has additionally known as prior to now for lessening US army help shipments to Ukraine to prioritize the rising threats from China.
McConnell, who superior Colby in a procedural vote earlier than opposing him on remaining affirmation, accepted the “Star of Ukraine” award in late March from the US-Ukraine Basis — and criticized Trump in all however title for searching for an “illusory peace” with Russia in negotiations to wind down its warfare with Kyiv.
“When American officials court the favor of an adversary at the expense of allies … when they mock our friends to impress an enemy … they reveal their embarrassing naivete,” the 83-year-old stated on the time.
