Senator Schmitt Backs President Trump’s 2026 National Defense Strategy at Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing

Schmitt Praises Under Secretary Colby's Foreign Policy Realism, Urges NATO Allies to Boost Defense Spending

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) praised Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby's realist foreign policy pivot and supported the Trump administration's 2026 National Defense Strategy.

Watch the Senator's full line of questioning HERE

"Thank you, Mr. Chairman and thank you for being here Under Secretary [Elbridge] Colby. I want to thank you for your [service], your leadership, and your fortitude to take on, in my view, the foreign policy blob and these entrenched experts that seemingly never go away in this town, who've been continually wrong about so many things over the years. The 2026 National Defense Strategy (NDS) acknowledges a bunch of things, but certainly that after the Cold War ended, there was never really an adjustment, whether it was trade policy or foreign policy. The idea was that we would help Europe get back on their feet, Japan get back up on their feet with these unfair trade deals. A defense umbrella that, quite frankly, Europe didn't really ever pay for. That's changing. And I think that's a good thing, and I think it reflects an urgent need on the ground for a foreign policy for disciplined realism, rather than bouncing around from Wilsonian pet project to Wilsonian pet project. That there isn't really a strategy. I think that the NDS does outline a strategy, because the American people are certainly concerned about the things that are happening in their communities, the influx of drugs. And so, when people tried to point out some inconsistency with taking out these cartel boat runners - I actually had a fake news reporter characterize them as fishing boats - but I think it also requires us to take a look at our foreign aid too, and making sure it's aligned with these America first principles," Senator Schmitt said during his opening remarks.

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