Elbridge Colby Confirmed as Under Secretary of Defense for Policy

Colby will serve as the Number 3 official in the Pentagon.

The U.S. Senate today held a recorded vote to confirm one individual nominated by President Donald Trump to serve in the executive branch of government - specifically in the U.S. Department of Defense led by Secretary Pete Hegseth since January 2025.

In a 54-45 vote, Elbridge Colby was confirmed as the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. The position has been led by three separate acting officials since July 2023, when Colin Kahl resigned after serving since April 2021.

Democrats Mark Kelly of Arizona, Jack Reed of Rhode Island and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan joined 51 Republicans in approving Colby’s nomination. Republican Mitch McConnell of Kentucky joined 42 Democrats and two Independents in opposition. Republican David McCormick of Pennsylvania did not vote.

Colby was nominated to this position by Trump in December 2024. From 2017 to 2018, he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy and Force Development. In that role, he oversaw the development of the 2018 U.S. National Defense Strategy.

A graduate of Yale Law School, Colby spent five years in the Department of Defense, the Department of State, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence at the start of his career. From 2010 to 2013, he worked as an analyst at CNA, a research nonprofit. From 2014 to 2017, he was the Robert M. Gates fellow at the Center for a New American Security.

After leaving the Defense Department in 2018, Colby returned to the Center for a New American Security. He left that position in 2019 to launch The Marathon Institute, a think tank developing strategies for U.S. competition with global rivals.