As Elbridge A. Coly faced pushback regarding his nomination for a lesser-known yet significant role at the Pentagon, President Trump’s staunch supporters swiftly came to his aid.
Elbridge A. Colby’s history offers scant evidence that he would be welcomed by President Trump’s most devoted and passionate supporters.
At 45, Mr. Colby is firmly entrenched in the foreign policy establishment that Mr. Trump aims to dismantle. He is the grandson of former C.I.A. director William Colby, a distinguished Groton, Harvard, and Yale Law School graduate. Throughout his career, he has navigated the complexities of national security, collaborating across party lines on critical issues such as nuclear weapons strategy, China’s military expansion, and the commercialization of space.
When Mr. Trump nominated Mr. Colby for a prominent position at the Pentagon, the pushback didn't arise from the president's supporters. Instead, it came from the shrinking group of traditional Republican foreign policy hard-liners, who frequently clash with the president's more nationalistic and inward-focused perspectives.
The loyal supporters of Trump viewed Mr. Colby’s confirmation as an opportunity to assert their influence over the ideological opponents within the party, rallying to his defense with fervor.
“This marks the latest scheme orchestrated by the deep state to undermine Trump,” Charlie Kirk, a prominent right-wing figure and staunch supporter of Trump, declared in a social media post.
“Any Republican who stands against @ElbridgeColby is standing against the Trump agenda,” stated Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son.
“What’s the reason behind the opposition to Bridge?” inquired the billionaire Elon Musk, alluding to Mr. Colby by his nickname.
Senators are expected to cast their votes on Mr. Colby’s nomination within the next few weeks, possibly even sooner.
Outside the confined realm of Washington think tanks, where he dedicated a significant portion of his career, Mr. Colby remains relatively unknown. The role he is about to assume, under secretary of defense for policy, is vital, yet it doesn't usually ignite the fervor of political activists.
The ongoing debate surrounding Mr. Colby’s nomination has evolved into a larger struggle: a contest over how America should exercise its power and influence on the global stage. As is frequently observed with individuals close to Mr. Trump, this situation also highlights Mr. Colby’s readiness to embrace some of his unfounded claims — particularly his unwavering belief that he emerged victorious in the 2020 election.
Mr. Colby’s gray suits, shaggy blond hair, and courtly demeanor evoke a sense of nostalgia for a bygone era in Washington.
Many of his foreign policy views reflect the influence of Cold War-era realists, who prioritized U.S. military strength and economic power over ideals in international relations.
In the early 2000s, Mr. Colby boldly voiced his opposition to the invasion of Iraq and the subsequent nation-building initiatives, creating a rift with his Republican colleagues. He expressed a similar doubt regarding the Democrats' backing of foreign aid and initiatives designed to promote democracy on a global scale.
Mr. Colby did not start out as a supporter of Trump. His position as one of the limited Republican national security experts who refrained from signing “Never Trump” letters in 2016 positioned him as a strong contender for a role at the Pentagon.
In 2017, he led the development of the administration’s inaugural National Defense Strategy, characterizing the era shaped by the Iraq and Afghanistan wars as a “period of strategic atrophy” that resulted in increasing debts and diminished military strength. During this period, it cautioned that America’s most formidable adversaries — Russia and China — were gaining strength.
Following a year at the Pentagon, Mr. Colby transitioned to the Center for a New American Security, an organization to which he had previously contributed during his career. He advocated for the withdrawal of troops from the Middle East and Europe, emphasizing that this would allow the U.S. military to concentrate on gearing up for a potentially devastating conflict with China regarding Taiwan.
“The war could erupt at any moment,” he cautioned time and again. “No one has the answer.”
Similar to many foreign policy think tanks, CNAS aims for a bipartisan approach — a hub where analysts prioritize national interests over partisan agendas. Despite declining an interview for this article due to his upcoming confirmation vote, Mr. Colby expressed to friends his discomfort as a Trump supporter, feeling increasingly out of place.
The most significant rift with his former colleagues arose from the events of the Capitol attack on January 6, 2021. Just days prior, Josh Hawley, a Republican hailing from Missouri, made headlines as the first senator to announce his intention to challenge Congress’s certification of the 2020 election results.
In 2019, Mr. Colby had the opportunity to meet the senator during his testimony on the National Defense Strategy, leading to a swift friendship and a strong alignment in their ideologies. They exchanged messages frequently.
Mr. Colby took to social media to express his support for Mr. Hawley’s decision, stating that he was advocating “for those who feel disenfranchised.” By taking this stance, Mr. Colby unmistakably positioned himself alongside those who were misleadingly claiming that the 2020 election had been taken from Mr. Trump.
Numerous colleagues in Mr. Colby’s foreign policy circle cautioned him that he and Mr. Hawley were treading on dangerous ground. As chaos erupted at the Capitol, Mr. Colby swiftly denounced the violence.
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