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On Monday, the Department of Defense announced a new slate of appointees to the Defense Policy Board, a committee tasked with providing strategic advice and making recommendations to the Pentagon.

Media outlets were quick to highlight the Pentagon’s selection of Marc Andreessen, co-founder of a16z, as further evidence of Silicon Valley’s growing power in Washington. A16z, which claims to have raised 18% of all venture capital dollars invested in the U.S. in 2025, backs military technology startups like Anduril, Saronic, Skydio and Shield AI. All of these companies have contracts with the Pentagon.

But Andreessen is far from the only defense industry-linked member of the advisory board, which helps advise Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Deputy Secretary of Defense Stephen Feinberg, and the Under Secretary of Policy Elbridge Colby. At least eight of the 15 members of the committee have close ties to the defense industry and foreign governments.

The vice-chair of the new committee is former Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), a lobbyist for the government of Saudi Arabia. Coleman played a central role in rehabilitating Saudi Arabia after the assassination of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen.

Coleman, who also serves as chair for the Republican Jewish Coalition, was pivotal during Hegseth’s approval process, shepherding the controversial nominee around Capitol Hill and whipping votes among his former colleagues. Now, Hegseth appears to be returning the favor, appointing Coleman to the prestigious committee, where he can help direct defense policy at the........

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