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Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHMITT. Mr. President, I rise today to argue for a swift and decisive confirmation of Elbridge Colby as Under Secretary of Defense for Policy.

It is common today to hear leaders in the foreign policy establishment talk of upholding the rules-based international order and promoting liberal values and norms. What is much less common is to hear anyone talk about tangible, concrete American interests. Mr. Colby is a welcome exception. He believes that America is a real, concrete nation and people with real, concrete interests and that the fundamental purpose of our foreign policy is to protect and advance those interests.

For the past 30 years, American foreign policy has lurched from disaster to disaster. To be a friend of the reigning consensus is to be an advocate of the same failed ideas that led us to spend trillions of dollars and countless young Americans' lives for causes and conflicts that were not ours, while leaving us woefully unprepared for the ones that are.

America does not need more of the same. What America needs is a new approach, a new strategy, a new philosophy of strength for the 21st century. That is what Elbridge Colby will deliver.

No one could argue that Mr. Colby isn't qualified for this role. He spent well over 20 years working in defense and foreign policy, serving in the Department of State, the Department of Defense, and various national security positions at different think tanks.

He served faithfully in the first Trump administration as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy and Force Development, where he was the lead author of the 2018 National Defense Strategy. From there, he founded a think tank, the Marathon Initiative, and wrote a book called the ``Strategy of Denial'' outlining his vision for confronting the true geopolitical challenge of our time: deterring--and if necessary, defeating--the threats posed by a rising China.

President Trump's decision to nominate Mr. Colby to this position was not a mistake. It was intentional. This administration wants to carry out a fundamental and long-overdue reorientation of our Nation's foreign policy, and Elbridge Colby is a critical component of that mission.

The media tells us that he is controversial. Why? Well, he believes that our foreign policy must prioritize our core interests, and that means that we can't be everywhere at once, doing everything all the time. His critics say that makes him weak. In reality, it is exactly the opposite. The quickest and most certain path to weakness is to waste our blood and treasure on Wilsonian adventurism abroad as the real threats and enemies of America grow unchecked. For years, Mr. Colby has been one of the lone voices in the foreign policy establishment with a real and viable vision for American strength.

It is true that Mr. Colby believes that the Iraq war was a mistake. He does not believe that a hot war with Iran would serve America's long-term interests. He believes that a costly and unwinnable proxy war in Ukraine is an obstacle to our ability to rebuild our military and revitalize our industrial base here at home and that our European allies must step up and do more to defend their own continent as the United States transitions to our focus in the Indo-Pacific. On all of these things, the decisive majority of Americans are on his side even if the foreign policy establishment isn't.

The political class in this city must come to terms with the fact that the world most of us grew up in no longer exists. President Trump intends to drag this city--kicking and screaming if necessary--into the 21st century. That is what we saw at the White House last week--a new foreign policy centered around uncompromising and unapologetic pursuit of the interests of the American people.

Mr. Colby will play a key role in that project, and I look forward to watching him serve as our next Under Secretary of Defense for Policy.

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