GOP explodes into 'extraordinary feud' over 'virtually unknown' Trump appointee

Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby attends an International commemorative ceremony for the 82nd anniversary of the Normandy landings in Langrune-sur-Mer, northwestern France, on June 6, 2026. LOU BENOIST/Pool via REUTERS

The GOP has become embroiled in a bitter and "extraordinary feud," according to a new report from The Washington Post, over the actions of a "virtually unknown" but vital Trump appointee within the Pentagon.

Elbridge Colby is the current undersecretary of defense for policy, a position which, the Post explained, "serves a vital role as the Pentagon’s chief strategist on issues such as counterterrorism and nuclear deterrence." Additionally, unlike his bosses, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg, he came to the position with actual prior Pentagon experience.

Despite that leg up, Colby has enraged many Republican lawmakers since he was appointed by President Donald Trump and confirmed by Congress. The Post's report noted a particularly caustic relationship with Rep. Mike D. Rogers, an Alabama Republican and chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, who took Colby "at his word" when he told the congressman that he was not aware of any upcoming overseas troop reductions. Rogers, who maintains a considerably close relationship with Romania, was then stunned and betrayed to learn that the Trump administration would be removing a key "Army brigade that had fortified NATO’s eastern flank since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine."

Colby claimed to the Post that a final order had not been issued in October when he took that meeting with Rogers, also stressing that he is "very careful about what I say and what I don’t say." Nonetheless, his relationship with the Republican-led chambers of Congress has only soured since then.

"In the months since, House and Senate Republicans have conducted more aggressive oversight of Colby than nearly any other Trump appointee," the Post detailed. "They have overruled his policies and blocked the confirmation of two officials nominated to serve as his top deputies. At least two prominent Republicans have publicly accused him of dishonesty. The extraordinary feud has become an open proxy war within the GOP, people familiar with the dispute said,as Republicans with starklydifferent ideas of America’s rightful role in the world each have argued their camp best represents President Donald Trump’s vision for an 'America First' foreign policy."

Colby came under scrutiny prior to his confirmation, particularly from GOP war hawks, for his comments attacking the idea of escalating U.S. support for Ukraine, while also dismissing the potential for a military campaign against Iran. Now, he has changed his tune considerably and voiced support for Trump's haphazard conflict with the Middle Eastern nation.

The report further noted that GOP critics have attacked Colby as something of an "enforcer of the Trump administration’s transactional approach to U.S. allies," demanding in speeches and posts "that partners from Europe to East Asia increase their defense spending and prepare for less American support." He has also drawn the ire of certain lawmakers for his attempt to block a congressional delegation from visiting Taiwan, fearing backlash from China.

Lawmakers have also vented during hearings about Colby's poor communication with Congress.

“You know who the hardest guy to get a hold of in the Trump administration is? The undersecretary of defense for policy,” Sen. Dan Sullivan, an Alaska Republican, told one of Colby's top deputies during their confirmation hearing.

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