Republican lawmakers lash out at Pentagon for keeping them in the dark

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By Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Republican and Democratic lawmakers slammed the Pentagon on Tuesday for not briefing them on national security issues and said at times top defense officials appeared to be undermining U.S. President Donald Trump’s own policies, in a rare bipartisan show of frustration with the administration.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has worked to control the flow of information about the world’s most powerful military and told Pentagon staff they must obtain permission before interacting with members of Congress.

During the more than two-hour-long hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, lawmakers said senior Pentagon officials were unresponsive to questions and concerns from Congress.

Senator Dan Sullivan, a Republican, singled out Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon’s top policy official.

“Man, I can’t even get a response, and we’re on your team,” Sullivan said, adding that it was tougher to get a response from Colby than it was to speak with Hegseth or even Trump.

Colby “has been really bad on this. The worst in the administration,” Sullivan said.

Colby’s team, known as the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, is one of the most powerful parts of the Pentagon, responsible for making policy recommendations to Hegseth.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

‘I WASN’T INVITED’

One area that came under scrutiny was communications over U.S. plans to cut the number of troops present on Europe’s eastern flank in Romania – a decision that was criticized by top Republican lawmakers when it was announced last week.

During Tuesday’s hearing, Austin Dahmer, the nominee to the assistant secretary of defense for strategy, plans and capabilities, said lawmakers had been given briefings on the matter three times before the announcement.

That, lawmakers said, was not accurate. 

“Can you tell me who did them, the dates … because I wasn’t invited,” said Republican Senator Rick Scott.

The chairman of the committee, Republican Senator Roger Wicker, paused the hearing and said those briefings did not happen. “Where did you get that information?”

Dahmer said there appeared to have been a miscommunication. 

Lawmakers also appeared confused as to the Pentagon’s focus and whether it was in line with Trump’s priorities. 

Democratic Senator Jacky Rosen said the Pentagon had made little effort to reach out to lawmakers to discuss its national defense strategy — a document officials say is expected to be published soon and will lay out the department’s priorities.

“We see no sense of urgency to relate to Congress. We see no sense of urgency to connect with Congress,” Rosen said.

Some Pentagon officials have themselves described struggles to understand the priorities of the administration, which in recent months has elevated once backburner issues like nuclear testing, democracy in Venezuela and cocaine trafficking.

On several occasions, the Pentagon has effectively paused weapon deliveries to Ukraine — only for Trump to reverse that decision.

“We’ve seen the policy office differ from the president’s policy… Is that good for us?” Scott asked.

(Reporting by Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)