Top Pentagon Policymaker Colin Kahl Stepping Down

Colin Kahl, the Pentagon’s top policymaker, is planning to leave his position as undersecretary for defense for policy later this summer, according to three U.S. officials familiar with his decision.

Kahl, whose pathway to confirmation in 2021 faced strong opposition from Republicans because of his anti-GOP statements on social media and amid questions about his temperament, has plans to return to the private sector, the officials told NBC News.

They said it is likely he will return to Stanford University, where he had been a fellow and professor before his stint at the Pentagon.

A Pentagon spokesman did not immediately respond to NBC News’ requests for comment on Kahl, who has been on a leave of absence from Stanford for two years.

A source familiar with the matter said in April, Kahl asked for an extension through mid-July so he can support President Joe Biden and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, and he plans to leave after that.

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., spoke out against Kahl during his nomination hearing in 2021 about his tweets against Republicans and Trump supporters. 

“Colin Kahl has a history of unhinged rants on social media and elsewhere, just people who have disagreements with him on public policy questions,” Cotton said at the time. “To say, ‘the Republican Party is the party of ethnic cleansing’ or has a ‘death-cult fealty’ to President [Donald] Trump, it reflects a demeanor and an attitude and a temperament that is not fit to have the No. 3 position in the Department of Defense.”

The Republican lawmakers also criticized Kahl’s involvement in the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and his policy views on the Middle East. 

Kahl apologized for his social media comments and was confirmed by a 49-45 vote, with no Republicans voting for him. 

While Biden was vice president, Kahl was his national security adviser from October 2014 until January 2017. He also served as a policy official during then-President Barack Obama’s administration.

Kahl has not ruled out returning to serve in a second Biden administration should the president win reelection according to the three U.S. officials.

They also said Sasha Baker, the deputy undersecretary of defense for policy, could move into Kahl’s spot in an acting capacity.

Mara Karlin, the assistant secretary of defense for strategy, plans, and capabilities for the Pentagon since August 2021, could also be nominated for the job. She currently advises senior leaders at the Pentagon on national security, emerging capabilities, and defense strategy, and had a vital role in creating the current National Defense Strategy. 

However, Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., has been holding up nominees for top Pentagon positions over its abortion policy. This means 234 nominations are currently stuck, including civilian nominees Nikolas Guertin as assistant secretary of the Navy and Ronald Keohane as assistant secretary of defense for manpower and reserve affairs.