WASHINGTON
—
In
a
rare
moment
of
public
intraparty
frustration,
Republican
senators
today
blasted
a
top
Defense
Department
official
for
not
cooperating
with
congressional
oversight.
Throughout
a
confirmation
hearing
held
by
the
Senate
Armed
Services
Committee
for
three
different
Pentagon
nominees,
senators
from
both
parties
aired
their
frustrations
with
what
they
described
as
Pentagon
policy
chief
Elbridge
Colby’s
opaque
decision-making,
asserting
that
lawmakers
were
not
kept
abreast
of
key
moves
like
the
recent
announcement
of
withdrawing
US
troops
from
Romania. But
it
was
comments
from
Republicans,
especially
Armed
Services
Chairman
Roger
Wicker,
that
stood
out.
“Throughout
this
year,
the
committee
has
had
a
relatively
positive
relationship
with
the
Pentagon,
especially
Secretary
[Pete]
Hegseth
and
Deputy
Secretary
[Steve]
Feinberg.
I’ve
been
disappointed
to
find
one
exception
to
that
cordiality:
Members
and
staff
of
this
committee
have
struggled
to
receive
information
from
the
policy
office
and
have
not
been
able
to
consult
in
a
meaningful
way
with
the
shop,
either
on
the
National
Defense
Strategy
or”
a
review
of
the
US
military’s
global
force
posture,
Wicker
said
in
opening
remarks
during
the
hearing.
“This
does
not
match
our
experience
with
the
first
Trump
administration,”
said
Wicker,
a
Mississippi
Republican
who
has
largely
avoided
criticizing
the
Trump
Pentagon
until
now.
He
then
added,
“the
situation
needs
to
improve
if
we
are
to
craft
the
best
defense
policy.”
Colby
serves
as
the
undersecretary
of
defense
for
policy,
sometimes
described
as
the
third-most
important
job
in
the
Pentagon.
A
long-time
think
tanker,
Colby
emerged
in
the
first
Trump
administration
as
a
leading
China
hawk
voice,
a
role
he
rode
into
his
current
position,
which
places
him
in
charge
of
crafting
the
National
Defense
Strategy
among
other
responsibilities.
However,
Colby
has
also
emerged
as
a
lightning
rod
for
criticism,
reportedly
driving
decisions
to
pause
aid
to
Ukraine
and
launching
a
review
of
the
AUKUS
trilateral
security
pact
—
moves
that
reportedly
caught
members
of
the
administration
by
surprise.
More
recently,
the
expected
focus
of
the
NDS
on
homeland
defense
instead
of
conflict
in
the
Pacific
has
led
to
grumblings
among
the
China
hawk
community
he
previously
championed.
Senators
largely
directed
their
displeasure
at
Austin
Dahmer,
the
Trump
administration’s
nominee
to
serve
as
the
Defense
Department’s
assistant
secretary
for
strategy,
plans
and
forces
—
a
position
whose
title,
lawmakers
revealed,
was
changed
without
their
awareness.
Lawmakers’
discontent
also
comes
amid
a
broader
crackdown
by
the
Pentagon
on
communications
with
Congress
that
was
previously
reported
by
Breaking
Defense.
“The
guy
you’re
going
to
go
work
for
has
been
really
bad
on
this,
the
worst
in
the
administration,”
Sen.
Dan
Sullivan,
a
Republican
from
Alaska,
said
to
Dahmer
when
discussing
how
Colby
was
difficult
to
reach.
Dahmer’s
current
role,
performing
the
duties
of
the
deputy
under
secretary
of
defense
for
policy,
and
the
new
post
he
has
been
nominated
for
both
fall
under
Colby.
“But
man,
I
can’t
even
get
a
response,
and
we’re
on
your
team!”
an
exasperated
Sullivan
added,
who
along
with
Wicker
stated
that
it
appeared
the
Pentagon’s
policy
shop
was
actually
undermining
President
Donald
Trump’s
goals.
Throughout
the
hearing,
Dahmer
fielded
questions
on
a
range
of
topics,
including
a
pause
on
Ukraine
aid
and
lethal
strikes
on
small
boats
the
Trump
administration
asserts
are
trafficking
drugs.
According
to
Dahmer,
he
was
“not
aware”
of
any
halt
in
aid
to
Kyiv
—
despite
a
high-profile
Oval
Office
blowup
that
temporarily
stopped
the
flow
of
weapons
and
a
separate,
publicly
confirmed
stockpile
review
—
and
Romanian
officials
were
informed
of
the
withdrawal
of
a
US
brigade
from
the
country
in
advance.
(Sen.
Elissa
Slotkin,
a
Democrat
from
Michigan,
asserted
that
Bucharest
was
blindsided
by
the
brigade
withdrawal
based
on
conversations
with
Romanian
officials.)
Lawmakers
were
briefed
three
times
about
the
Romania
decision
as
well,
Dahmer
said,
though
senators
on
the
committee
disputed
that.
After
publication
of
this
report,
Pentagon
Press
Secretary
Kingsley
Wilson
said
in
a
statement,
“The
Committees
were
pre-notified
of
the
decision.
Briefings
were
offered
to
the
Committees
this
week.”
“You’re
clearly
avoiding
answers
to
questions
that
you
should
have
been
acutely
aware
of
in
your
position.
That
does
not
augur
very
well
for
your
role
and
the
future
of
the
Department
of
Defense,”
Sen.
Jack
Reed,
a
Democrat
from
Rhode
Island
and
the
committee’s
ranking
member,
said
after
questioning
Dahmer
on
the
decisions
to
pause
Ukraine
aid
and
remove
troops
from
Romania.
Reed
also
asserted
that
the
Pentagon
reshuffled
the
portfolios
of
deputy
assistant
secretaries
who
would
report
to
Dahmer,
if
he
is
confirmed
to
his
new
role,
without
properly
consulting
Congress. Inside
Defense
reported
that
the
Pentagon’s
policy
shop
is
being
overhauled
by
merging
roles,
dissolving
positions
and
renaming
posts
—
changes
that
Wicker
said
were
spelled
out
in
a
letter
dated
Oct.
8
but
only
delivered
Sunday
night.
“I
understand
that
media
reports
can
be
wrong,
believe
me,
but
it
just
seems
like
there’s
this
Pigpen-like
mess
coming
out
of
the
policy
shop
that
you
don’t
see
from”
other
offices,
said
Sen.
Tom
Cotton,
a
Republican
from
Arkansas.
Cotton
then
asked
Dahmer
why
he
thinks
that
is.
“Senator,
I
would
like
to
understand
that
myself,”
Dahmer
replied,
blaming
“fake
news”
and
“inaccurate
reporting.”
UPDATED
11/4/25
at
5:47
PM
ET
with
comment
from
the
Pentagon
on
the
withdrawal
of
US
troops
from
Romania,
as
well
as
clarification
from
Sen.
Tom
Cotton’s
office
about
the
Peanuts
character
Pigpen.