Defense GOP chair hits Pentagon policy chief for keeping Congress out of the loop by Ellen Mitchell - 03/05/26 11:26 AM ET by Ellen Mitchell - 03/05/26 11:26 AM ET Share ✕ LinkedIn LinkedIn Email Email NOW PLAYING House Armed Services Committee Chair Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) on Thursday went after Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby for not keeping Congress in the loop on force posture changes in Europe. In a hearing on the National Defense Strategy, Rogers accused the Trump administration of sidelining Congress in its decision to pull a U.S. combat brigade from Romania in October. He said he had spoken repeatedly with top military officials overseeing U.S. European Command who had advised keeping the brigade in place.  “All of them made the assessment that this would increase NATO’s risk in terms of their posture against Russia, but it also sends a terrible signal about the United States’s commitment to NATO,” Rogers said. He also pointed out that President Trump stated two days before the decision that there would be no significant change in the U.S. force posture in Europe. “It’s clear to me that you decided that pushing your agenda on U.S. force posture without interagency coordination and without regard to the president’s opinion or Congress’s was the way to go,” Rogers said. “Can you explain to me how you arrived at that position?” Colby stressed that the decision was coordinated through normal channels within the Defense Department and was reached after they received “best military advice,” though he declined to say from whom.  “The decision, as I understand it, to remove that brigade was made on Oct. 24. Our committee was formally notified on the 27. How can you characterize telling us three days later that that’s consultation with Congress, which you are constitutionally required to do when it comes to force posture decisions?” Rogers asked. Colby argued that the Pentagon’s policy office “is one of the leaders in congressional engagement.” “We see that completely differently,” Rogers responded. “It’s been like pulling teeth trying to get information.”  “Going forward, we feel very strongly that Congress has a say-so in these matters, and we’re going to help y’all understand that in the coming months,” he added. Add as preferred source on Google Tags Donald Trump Mike Rogers Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Share ✕ LinkedIn LinkedIn Email Email More Defense News See All Media Collins on Leavitt criticism: Coverage of slain US service members 'not about the president' by Dominick Mastrangelo 38 minutes ago Media  /  38 minutes ago