AUKUS review: Pentagon’s Elbridge Colby orders inquiry to ensure defence agreement aligns with ‘America First’

The Trump administration’s biggest AUKUS sceptic has ordered a review into whether the US should pull out of the submarine deal with Australia, just days after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese refused America’s request to lift defence spending.

The inquiry was directed by AUKUS-sceptic Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon’s Deputy Under Secretary of Defence for Policy, the Financial Times reported.

A US Defence official said the review was “part of ensuring that this initiative of the previous Administration is aligned with the President’s America First agenda.”

“As Secretary Hegseth has made clear, this means ensuring the highest readiness of our servicemembers, that allies step up fully to do their part for collective defence, and that the defence industrial base is meeting our needs,” the official said in a statement.

“This review will ensure the initiative meets these common-sense, America First criteria.”

Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Beijing would be cheering at the news.

“News that the Trump Administration is considering backing away from AUKUS will be met with cheers in Beijing, which is already celebrating America’s global pullback and our strained ties with allies under President Trump,” Senator Shaheen said.

“Scrapping this partnership would further tarnish America’s reputation and raise more questions among our closest defence partners and our reliability.”

Defence Minister Richard Marles brushed aside the review and said he looked forward to working closely with the US on the inquiry.

“It is natural that the Administration would want to examine this major undertaking including progress and delivery, just as the UK Government recently concluded an AUKUS review and reaffirmed its support including through the appointment of Sir Stephen Lovegrove as its AUKUS Adviser,” he said.

However the UK’s review looked at how to progress and strengthen AUKUS, not whether it should be scrapped at the outset.

“All three countries are committed to ensuring AUKUS meets national and trilateral objectives,” Mr Marles said.

He stressed there was bipartisan support for the project in Congress.

“Our engagement with the Trump Administration and across the full political spectrum in the United States has shown clear and consistent support for AUKUS,” he said.

“We look forward to continuing our close cooperation with the Trump Administration on this historic project.”

Mr Colby is one of the America First movement’s fiercest critics of what he views as shirker allies. He was also the first in US President Donald Trump’s orbit to voice concerns about AUKUS. When asked by The Nightly, at a speaking engagement in London, he said he would have been quite sceptical about the deal if it were put to him to sign off on.

“My concern is why are we giving away this crown jewel asset when we most need it?” he said 12 months ago.

“AUKUS is only going to lead to more submarines collectively in 10, 15, 20 years, which is way beyond the window of maximum danger, which is really in this decade.

“So the benefits are questionable and the viability is also questionable.”

However, Mr Colby retreated from some of his criticisms and directed most of his ire toward European NATO allies, who have subsequently begun to pledge massive defence spending increases prompting his praise.

By contrast, in the last few days he has been issuing statements on X about the need for Indo-Pacific allies to heed Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth’s call for more defence funding.

Mr Hegseth asked Mr Marles to raise defence spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP at a meeting on the sidelines of the Shangri-la Dialogue in Singapore. Currently, Labor plans to spend 2.3 per cent of GDP on defence by the middle of the next decade.

Mr Marles responded by saying he was “totally up for a conversation” but refused to confirm the figure Mr Hegseth requested. The Defence Secretary released the figure in a statement three days later.

Since then, Labor has become more strident in its opposition and said the decision is for Australia, not the US to make. Mr Albanese told the Press Club this week he had not been provided with any capabilities that need funding and was not going to commit to a blind yardstick method of government spending.

Australia has already paid the first US$500 million ($760 million) to buy up to three nuclear-powered submarines from the United States, under a deal first struck with the Biden Administration by former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Mr Marles paid the cheque in Feburary when he first met Mr Hegseth after President Trump’s inauguration.

At the time, Mr Hegseth said Mr Trump was aware and supportive of AUKUS and this was recently further backed by comments the President’s personally appointed Ambassador to the UK, Warren Stephens, made at an event in London, alongside UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

It is unclear if Mr Colby’s review is the act of a lone operator or represents a change in the stance of the Administration, which is often ideologically split on key policy areas.

AUKUS is the most expensive and ambitious defence acquisition project in Australia’s history and aims to buy and then build nuclear-powered submarines at a cost of $368 billion.

But because Australia cannot build nuclear-propelled submarines and faces an urgent capability gap with the Collins Class boats reaching their end of life, it is reliant on purchasing off-the-shelf Virginia-class boats from the Americans and then co-building an SSN AUKUS version of submarine with the British.

The UK government put on a brave face.

A government spokesperson said the review was “understandable.”

“It is understandable that a new administration would want to review its approach to such a major partnership, just as the UK did last year,” the spokesperson said.

“The UK will continue to work closely with the US and Australia at all levels to maximise the benefits and opportunities which AUKUS presents for our three nations.”