As the deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and force development at the Pentagon during the first Trump administration, Elbridge Colby was the lead architect of the 2018 national defense strategy. That document called for a far more urgent emphasis on deterring and, if necessary, defeating China.

President-elect Donald Trump has made good choices with his apparent selections of Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) for Secretary of State and Rep. Michael Waltz (R-FL) for national security adviser. Trump also would do well to appoint Colby to a senior national security position, perhaps as Secretary of Defense or CIA director.