Republicans clashed with Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Pentagon’s policy office in a heated hearing that put internal GOP tensions on full public display.
The striking intra-party revolt erupted on Capitol Hill as senators assailed one of President Trump’s picks for a senior role at the United States Department of Defense.
Austin Dahmer, the nominee to the assistant secretary of defense for strategy, plans, and capabilities, was ripped to shreds over several major policy decisions, including the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Romania, suspending some assistance to war-torn Ukraine, and for being difficult to reach.
Austin Dahmer to Senate Armed Services Committee: “We must ensure … that our efforts to arm allies and partners strengthen and do not detract from our ability to execute our strategy” pic.twitter.com/bi1YIKvS59
— Ken Moriyasu (@kenmoriyasu) November 4, 2025
The fiery exchanges, during a confirmation hearing for Trump’s Pentagon nominees on Tuesday, exposed cracks in the party which typically displays a united front.
Several lawmakers expressed disappointment in Dahmer and Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby. Some said the duo have been uncooperative and that policy decisions appeared “uncoordinated,” The Washington Post reported.
Florida Sen. Rick Scott accused Dahmer of lying that Congress had been briefed multiple times on the decision to reduce the U.S. troop presence in Europe by moving to pull out a brigade of U.S. troops from Romania, including at an air base.
About 1,000 U.S. troops will remain in the country, and Romanian President Nicușor Dan has described the move as “a strategic reconfiguration, not a withdrawal.”
But some fear that the decreased U.S. military presence could undermine security in the region and embolden Moscow to expand Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which Trump is desperately trying to put an end to.
“Can you tell me who did [the briefings] and the dates, because I wasn’t invited,” the senator asked.
Sen. Roger Wicker, the committee chair, also said the briefings did not take place. “Where did you get that information?” he asked, pausing the hearing.
Dahmer suggested the situation resulted from a miscommunication.
A frustrated Sen. Dan Sullivan said he and other Republican lawmakers “can’t even get a response…and we’re on your team.”
He also singled out Colby as being “really bad on this. The worst in the administration.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House and the Pentagon for comment.
When approached for comment, the Pentagon told The Post that the Armed Services Committee had been “pre-notified” about the plan to withdraw troops from Romania and that “briefings were offered” to lawmakers this week.
It remains unclear whether Dahmer’s nomination will be advanced.
In July, multiple sources who spoke to Politico claimed Colby had blindsided senior administration officials and foreign allies with a series of rogue foreign policy moves that didn’t align with Trump’s priorities.
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