Pentagon policy chief grilled as Dem claims Trump broke promise about going to war with Iran

By Fox News · Fox News

Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby faced tough questions Thursday about President Donald Trump 's previous statements about war with Iran. While Colby was testifying before the House Armed Services Committee, the Democratic ranking member said that the president broke his campaign promise. Colby appeared before the House Armed Services Committee on Thursday to testify about the recently-released 2026 National Defense Strategy (NDS). Several lawmakers focused on the U.S.'s Operation Epic Fury , as U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran continue. "When President Trump was running for office, he said over and over and over again, 'I'm not going to do wars.' In fact, he very specifically said, 'If I'm president, we will not go to war with Iran.' And here we are. So I'm genuinely curious what changed? What changed from when he was a candidate to when he was in office?" Ranking Member Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., said. BEYOND THE IRAN DEAL: WHY TRUMP’S REFUSAL TO ‘KICK THE CAN’ JUST SAVED GENERATIONS Smith later asked Colby the question, saying that Trump had routinely implied that "his mere presence and his policies" could prevent wars as part of his "America First agenda." The lawmaker then wondered how that agenda allegedly failed in Iran. "I think the president sincerely meant that. He sincerely meant, 'you put me in office, I'm going to do things to make sure that we don't go to war with Iran.' He failed. We're at war with Iran," Smith said. PENTAGON OFFICIAL FLAGS RETURN OF 'COLD WAR MENTALITY,' AS TRUMP ADMIN RESHAPES NATO ALLIANCE Colby pushed back, saying he did not think that the agenda had failed in Iran, noting Trump's consistency in opposing Iran's development of nuclear weapons. However, the ranking member would not accept that answer and retorted, once again bringing up the president's statements about not going to war. The Pentagon policy chief later brought up the president's commitment to "peace through strength," citing the peace deals Trump has struck, such as t…