A Pentagon review of the AUKUS pact between the U.S., Australia and the U.K. is a "brass-tack” evaluation of its affordability and whether the agreement fits with President Donald Trump’s foreign-policy priorities, a Defense Department nominee has said.

The comments from John Noh, Trump’s pick for assistant secretary for Indo-Pacific security affairs, mark a rare moment that the administration has acknowledged or offered even a little insight into the review of the agreement, which was signed under President Joe Biden.

"The department is conducting a review of AUKUS to make sure it is fully aligned with President Trump’s 'America First' foreign policy,” Noh told the Senate Armed Services Committee. "It is a brass-tack, common-sense look at the realities facing AUKUS, including the state of our submarine industrial base.”