Vice President JD Vance visits Capitol Hill to urge senators to vote to confirm Elbridge Colby for undersecretary of defense for policy. (Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The vice president praised Colby as a "good man" and an "honest man."
"You need people who are going to tell you the truth. We're going to look you in the eye who are going to disagree," Vance said.
The vice president’s presence demonstrates how seriously the White House is looking to shore up support for Colby, whose restraint-minded views have given pause to some more hawkish senators.
It is the second confirmation hearing Vance has attended after Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who the vice president also has a close relationship with.
Colby said in his own opening remarks, "There is a real risk of major war, and we cannot afford to lose one. I recognize these realities in my bones. It is my great hope that we can get through the coming years peacefully, with strength in ways that put us and our alliances on a stronger and more sustainable footing."
"I'm willing and ready to engage with those who disagree with me and adapt my views based on persuasive arguments and the fact is that I value our alliances deeply, even as I think they must be adapted, and that I love our great country, and will put its interests first and foremost."
Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker, R-Miss., questioned Colby on his previously stated position, "America has a strong interest in defending Taiwan, but Americans can survive without it."
"Your views on Taiwan’s importance to the United States seems to have softened considerably," Wicker told Colby.
Colby disputed that point, arguing he had been shooting a warning flare that the U.S.’ "military balance has declined" with regard to China.
"What I have been trying to shoot a signal flare over is that it is vital for us to focus and enable our own forces for an effective and reasonable defense of Taiwan and for the Taiwanese, as well as the Japanese to do more," said Colby.
Vice President JD Vance (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Sen. Kristen Gillibrand, D-N.Y., pressed Colby on whether Russia was an "adversary" or an "ally" to the U.S.
"Russia presents a significant military threat to Europe, and there are significant military threats to the homeland as well," said Colby. "We can… diminish, you know, the potential for direct confrontation with Russia in the same way with China."
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Colby's confirmation process has rankled Iran hawks, and at least Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., has privately expressed skepticism. Wicker previously told Roll Call that Colby’s nomination poses "a concern to a number of senators."
Colby, who worked at the Pentagon during Trump’s first term and was a lead author on the 2018 U.S. National Security Strategy, has long asserted the U.S. should limit its resources in the Middle East and refocus on China as the bigger threat.
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