The Heritage Foundation, an influential conservative group, is supporting Elbridge Colby's nomination for a top position at the Defense Department, calling him the most influential defense policy thinker in over twenty years. Colby's nomination has faced opposition due to his realist worldview and his suggestion that the US should live with a nuclear Iran. The Heritage Foundation believes that Colby is the best person to implement President Trump's and Secretary Hegseth's policies within the Department of Defense. Colby previously worked at the Pentagon under Trump's first term and has advocated for limiting resources in the Middle East and focusing on China as the bigger threat.