A number of Republican senators have criticized the Department of Defense Policy Office for not keeping the Senate Armed Services Committee informed about significant actions, including the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Romania and a pause in aid to Ukraine.
Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) expressed concerns, stating, “It seems that some key choices from the Pentagon’s policy teams are conflicting with what the president is trying to accomplish.” During Tuesday’s confirmation hearings for President Trump’s Pentagon nominees, Sullivan and others aggressively questioned Austin Dermer, who has been nominated for assistant secretary of defense for strategy, plans, and capabilities. If confirmed, Dermer would report to Elbridge Colby, the undersecretary of defense for policy, who lawmakers claim is difficult to reach.
“Do you know who the hardest person to get a hold of in the Trump administration is? The Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. I’ll meet with him tomorrow; maybe he’ll cancel me. Who knows?” Sullivan said during the hearings.
This dissatisfaction among lawmakers, including some Democrats, highlights ongoing tensions between Congress and the Pentagon in President Trump’s second term.
A Defense Department official, speaking anonymously, confirmed that Colby did meet with Sullivan on Wednesday.
Tuesday’s committee meeting also featured Robert Kadlec, nominated as assistant secretary of defense for nuclear deterrence and chemical and biological defense, as well as Michael Borders Jr., nominated for assistant secretary of the Air Force for energy, facilities, and environment.
Senator Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, supported Sullivan’s assertions, attributing the lack of information sharing to the Pentagon’s policy office. He noted their overall relationship with the Pentagon was generally positive, particularly with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Deputy Secretary of Defense Steve Feinberg, but the policy office posed a different challenge.
“It’s disappointing to see this one exception,” Wicker stated. “The committee members and staff have struggled to obtain information from the Office of Policy and haven’t been able to engage meaningfully regarding the National Defense Strategy or the Global Situation Review.”
Wicker also noted that he didn’t encounter such issues during Trump’s first term, adding, “We need to improve the current situation for better defense policy.”
During the hearing, senators pointed out various decisions from Colby’s office where they felt uninformed about shifts in defense policy, including the recent decision to withdraw a rotational brigade from Romania, the review of the AUKUS submarine pact, and a temporary halt in shipments to Ukraine earlier this year.
Dermer asserted that Congress had been briefed three times prior to the decision to withdraw troops from Romania; however, this claim was met with skepticism from Republican senators. “As far as we know, that wasn’t communicated,” Wicker responded to Dermer. “I just checked with both majority and minority staff.” When Dermer was asked about his information source, he mentioned the Pentagon’s legislative branch.
Senator Rick Scott (R-Fla.) emphasized his desire for more clarity on how such decisions were made. Dermer contended that Romania had been informed before the troop withdrawal announcement, but when Scott inquired about the timing, Dermer admitted he didn’t know and promised to look into it.
Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), who leads the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, described reports regarding Colby’s office as indicative of a “complete mess.” In response, Dermer suggested that there exists a lot of “fake news” and “inaccurate reporting” surrounding these issues.
Democrats on the committee echoed the frustrations of their Republican counterparts, also criticizing the policy office for failing to communicate promptly about these matters. Democratic Senator Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) remarked, in reference to the National Defense Strategy (NDS), “I don’t see any urgency around the pre-approval of the NDS by Congress. We are an equal branch of Article I.”
The NDS, typically updated every four years, delineates major threats to U.S. national security, sets military priorities for adapting to new technologies, and provides guidance on the positioning of U.S. forces worldwide.
Updated: 4:40 p.m.
