Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee repeatedly voiced frustration with a lack of information coming from the Pentagon at a confirmation hearing Tuesday for several assistant secretary nominees.
Austin Dahmer, who is currently serving as the acting deputy undersecretary of Defense for policy and has been nominated to be the assistant secretary for strategy, plans and forces, took the brunt of criticism from senators, who blamed the information vacuum on the Pentagon’s policy shop.
“The department is allegedly conducting a broad review of U.S. forces stationed abroad. I say ‘allegedly’ because the department has not formally conveyed to this committee that it is actually undertaking such a review,” Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said in his opening statement.
“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 the Global Posture Review,” he added.
In one of the more recent examples raised by senators, Wicker and other committee members took issue with the lack of a briefing ahead of the administration’s decision last week to withdraw hundreds of U.S. troops from Romania on NATO’s eastern flank.
But senators also raised other concerns about a dearth of communication from the Pentagon, including on the upcoming National Defense Strategy and even a change in the title of the position Dahmer was nominated for.
Dahmer was originally nominated to be assistant secretary for strategy, plans and capabilities, but the title was changed to assistant secretary for strategy, plans and forces in early October without notifying the committee until this past Sunday, Wicker said at the hearing.
The palpable frustration from Republicans was notable for a party that typically backs the Trump administration.
But the committee Republicans made clear their grievance lies not with President Donald Trump or even Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Rather, they blamed Elbridge Colby, the undersecretary of Defense for policy who is one of the most powerful civilians in the Pentagon.
“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, R-Alaska. “It’s frustrating when on the DOD stuff, especially on the policy stuff, on big decisions, we’re not getting anything. And we’re not. We’re not. Trust me, I’ve been trying.”
Sullivan demanded each of the nominees commit to responding to him and any committee member the “same damn day” the senators reach out, and each nominee promised they would.
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., similarly expressed concern about a “pigpen-like mess coming out of the policy shop,” citing issues such as the Pentagon pausing some weapons shipments to Ukraine and reviewing the AUKUS nuclear security between the U.S., U.K. and Australia.
Dahmer pushed back on Cotton’s characterization, claiming that news articles on those issues were inaccurate — despite the fact that those moves were publicly announced by Pentagon officials.
A particular area of concern for senators Tuesday was the decision to withdraw some U.S. troops from Romania, where NATO allies have been working to fortify the border with Ukraine against Russian aggression.
The drawdown was confirmed by the Army last week after it was first revealed by the Romanian Defense Ministry, and several senators in both parties said they weren’t aware of the decision before it was made public.
“I think all of us would like to have more information on how the decision was made,” Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., told Dahmer. “Did we tell Romania? What did we say to them, and what was the rationale?”
Dahmer replied that Romania was notified, but when pressed by Scott on how far in advance that notification came, Dahmer said he did not know.
While Dahmer asserted the committee was briefed three times before the drawdown was announced, Wicker flatly denied that happened.
“I just checked with staff from the majority and the minority, and the information I have was that that was not communicated,” Wicker said. “Are we confusing notifications with a briefing? A brief notification is one thing, but a briefing where information is imparted and questions can be asked is quite something” different.
Dahmer claimed the discrepancy was a “miscommunication” and promised Wicker he would seek clarity on who was notified when.
Wicker also pressed Dahmer on whether there are any further drawdowns planned after the Romania move.
“I’m not aware of specific plans for future drawdowns,” Dahmer replied, “but absolutely if confirmed I would commit to ensuring that you and the committee are fully briefed in a classified setting and at the appropriate time.”
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