30 Facts About Elbridge Colby

Elbridge Andrew Colby was born on December 30,1979 and is an American national security policy professional who is currently the under secretary of defense for policy.

Elbridge Colby previously served as deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and force development from 2017 to 2018 during the first Trump administration.

Elbridge Colby played a key role in the development of the 2018 US National Defense Strategy, which, among other things, shifted the US Defense Department's focus to China.

In June 2018, Colby was appointed as director of the Defense Program at the Center for a New American Security.

In December 2024, President-elect Trump nominated Elbridge Colby to serve as the under secretary of defense for policy.

Elbridge Colby believes the US should shift its military resources to Asia to prevent a Chinese takeover of Taiwan.

Elbridge Colby moved to Tokyo in 1986 when his father was appointed head of First Boston's Tokyo office, and he returned when he was thirteen.

Elbridge Colby graduated from Harvard College in 2002, and from Yale Law School in 2009.

From 2010 to 2013, Elbridge Colby worked as an analyst at CNA, a federally funded nonprofit research and analysis organization.

From 2014 to 2017, Colby was the Robert M Gates fellow at the Center for a New American Security.

In 2015, Elbridge Colby was considered for a major position in Jeb Bush's 2016 presidential campaign, but was not hired after "prominent, interventionist neoconservatives" objected.

In May 2017, Elbridge Colby was appointed the deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and force development, a role in which he served into 2018.

Elbridge Colby served as the primary Defense Department representative in the development of the 2017 National Security Strategy.

Politico reported that in re-orienting American defense resources away from the Middle East and towards China, Elbridge Colby faced considerable bureaucratic infighting from US Central Command and the Joint Staff, but received support from the Air Force and the Navy.

Elbridge Colby then launched The Marathon Initiative, a think tank devoted to developing strategies for the US to compete with global rivals.

In 2021, Elbridge Colby expanded on his views in his first book, The Strategy of Denial: American Defense in an Age of Great Power Conflict, which The Wall Street Journal named a Ten Best Book of 2021.

On December 22,2024, President-elect Trump nominated Elbridge Colby to serve as the under secretary of defense for policy for his second term as president.

Senator Mitch McConnell was the only Republican to oppose Elbridge Colby's nomination, leading to criticism from Republicans including JD Vance and Nate Morris.

Elbridge Colby believes that China is the principal threat faced by the United States, and that Asia should be the priority of US efforts and resources.

Elbridge Colby believes China is seeking regional hegemony over Asia, which he believes to be the world's most important region, and will achieve that goal if not stopped by the US He says that if China is allowed to dominate Asia, it would severely diminish America's future prospects and freedom of action, push the American economy down the value chain, and leave the US less resistant to Chinese pressure.

Elbridge Colby believes the most effective way for China to achieve regional hegemony would be by attacking a US ally or quasi-ally, which he identifies as Taiwan.

Elbridge Colby believes an attack on Taiwan would lead to a "limited war" which would seek to cause the least upheaval in the region, with no motivation on either side to escalate; he calls on the US to prepare for this scenario.

Elbridge Colby further calls for an "anti-hegemonic coalition" made up of US allies in Asia to stop China from taking over Taiwan; he believes that if the coalition failed to stop a takeover of Taiwan, China could seize the Philippines and Vietnam next.

Elbridge Colby called on South Korea to take "overwhelming responsibility" for its own defense against North Korea, with the US getting involved only if China gets involved.

Elbridge Colby said United States Forces Korea should be focused on protecting South Korea from possible Chinese attacks instead of being "held hostage to dealing with the North Korean problem".

Elbridge Colby supports transferring wartime operational control from the US to South Korea, while signaling his openness to South Korea acquiring nuclear weapons.

Elbridge Colby said the denuclearization of North Korea was an "impossibly far-fetched" idea, instead calling to focus on more "attainable" goals such as arms control focused on limiting the range of North Korean intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Elbridge Colby believes aiding Ukraine during the Russian invasion of Ukraine jeopardizes America's focus on China, and that this reality necessarily means America must prioritize investment of attention and resources on China, including a reduction in support for Ukraine.

Elbridge Colby believes European NATO members should spend around 3 to 4 percent of their GDP on defense and says the US should be "prepared to use carrots and sticks to incentivize the right kind of behavior from our point of view" in regards to European countries.

Elbridge Colby supports withdrawing the US military from the Persian Gulf, arguing the US can counter Iran "more efficiently" by "bolstering the military capabilities of its partners in the region".