Vice President J.D. Vance let Sen. Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, have it Tuesday after the former Senate majority leader voted against yet another of President Donald Trump’s nominees.
McConnell was the sole Republican senator to vote against Elbridge Colby, the president’s pick to serve as under secretary of policy at the Defense Department.
In a 54 to 45 vote, the Senate confirmed Colby to the position, with Democrats like Senate Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Jack Reed of Rhode Island, and Sens. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, backing him.
Reed is a West Point graduate and U.S. Army veteran, while Kelly is a former U.S. Navy fighter pilot, and Slotkin served with the CIA in Iraq.
In a Tuesday statement, McConnell accused Colby of “abandoning Ukraine and Europe and downplaying the Middle East to prioritize the Indo-Pacific,” saying such a tactic “is not a clever geopolitical chess move.”
“It is geostrategic self-harm that emboldens our adversaries and drives wedges between America and our allies for them to exploit,” he asserted.
In other words, the senator believes that Colby is too concerned about the threat posed by China to the detriment of the war in Ukraine against Russia.
Politico noted, “Colby — who has served in the Pentagon, State Department and in the office of the director of national intelligence — was instrumental in crafting a 2018 national defense strategy during Trump’s first term. The blueprint sought to reorient the military on so-called great power competition with Russia and China.”
Vance posted on X in response to McConnell’s opposition to Colby, “Mitch’s vote today—like so much of the last few years of his career—is one of the great acts of political pettiness I’ve ever seen.”
Do you agree with JD Vance?
Mitch’s vote today—like so much of the last few years of his career—is one of the great acts of political pettiness I’ve ever seen. https://t.co/Qg6eAOqW4J
— JD Vance (@JDVance) April 8, 2025
The Kentucky senator’s “No” vote on Colby fits a fairly frequent pattern of his disposition to Trump nominees.
McConnell also voted against Pete Hegseth becoming secretary of defense, Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for secretary of health and human services, and Lori Chavez-DeRemer for secretary of labor.
Hegseth celebrated Colby’s Senate confirmation posting on X, “I look forward to working together to put our warfighters first and strengthen our national defense.”
Congratulations to @ElbridgeColby on his Senate confirmation as Under Secretary of Defense for Policy.
I look forward to working together to put our warfighters first and strengthen our national defense. pic.twitter.com/LrRAezBJzV
— Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (@SecDef) April 8, 2025
McConnell stepped down as Republican majority leader last fall following multiple health incidents.
Elbridge Colby is one of the brightest foreign policy minds in the GOP and it’s pathetic watching Mitch McConnell continue to stand with Dems to sabotage President Trump. This is why whoever replaces Mitch for Senate needs to represent a clean break from him – Time for a change! pic.twitter.com/yYwsVaCUBU
— Nate Morris (@NateMorris) April 8, 2025
The 83-year-old plans to finish his current term, which ends in 2026, and retire.
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