Pete Hegseth confirmed as Trump’s defense secretary

Four Republicans would be needed to join the 47 Democratic and independent senators who voted against Hegseth for his nomination to be defeated.

McConnell’s surprise vote left the Senate deadlocked 50-50 before Vance arrived to decide the tiebreaker.

Explaining his vote, McConnell issued a blunt statement saying Hegseth was unprepared to lead a vast department of three million people while managing a huge budget and coordinating with global allies.

The role of defense secretary is “a daily test with staggering consequences for the security of the American people,” McConnell said. “Mr. Hegseth has not yet demonstrated that he will pass this test.”

By confirming Hegseth, Vance becomes the second vice president in U.S. history to break a tie to confirm a Cabinet nominee. Trump’s former vice president, Mike Pence, became the first when he cast the deciding vote to confirm Betsy DeVos as secretary of education in 2017.

“Warfare, lethality, meritocracy, standards and readiness. That’s it. That’s my job,” Hegseth said during his confirmation hearing earlier this month.

Democratic senators grilled Hegseth, a military veteran, about his qualifications to lead one of the nation’s largest agencies.

But many Republicans, including Trump, have maintained their support for Hegseth.

Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, defended Hegseth during the hearing and voted in favor of his confirmation.

He said: “Pete Hegseth is ready to host President Donald Trump’s agenda and has convinced me that he will be a change agent in the Department of Defense and that he is the person we need.

“He is the president’s choice, and we owe it to this commander in chief to put him in this position, unless he is not qualified for the position.”

Hegseth, 44, a veteran of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, later worked at Fox. He has little of the traditional experience expected for a national security Cabinet position, a role typically filled by senior public officials, seasoned politicians, generals and high-level executives.

Hegseth was also asked during the hearing, particularly by female senators, about her previous comments that women should not serve in combat roles. He responded that his concern was not about women serving in combat, but about maintaining a certain standard in the U.S. military.

His confirmation process was overshadowed by allegations of misconduct. He was accused of sexually assaulting an unnamed woman in 2017 in a Monterey, California, hotel room. He has denied the accusation repeatedly.

The newly confirmed defense secretary also faced accusations of excessive alcohol consumption, including at work events, and infidelity in his two previous marriages.

“I’m not a perfect person, but redemption is real,” he said during the hearing.

Earlier this week, he was accused of alcohol and spousal abuse in an affidavit filed before a congressional committee by his former sister-in-law. Hegseth’s attorney denied the allegations.

For Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a Republican who voted against confirmation on Friday, past allegations helped sway her vote.

In a statement released days before the vote, he said his past behavior “demonstrates a lack of judgment unbecoming of someone who would lead our armed forces.”

Meanwhile, Maine Sen. Susan Collins, another Republican who voted against Hegseth, said she was “concerned that he does not have the experience and perspective necessary to succeed in the job.”