Vice President Vance on Friday broke a Senate tie to confirm Pete Hegseth as President Trump’s secretary of Defense, capping a bruising two-month fight over the nominee, who faced a litany of allegations that included sexual misconduct, financial mismanagement and excessive drinking.
GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Susan Collins (Maine) and Mitch McConnell (Ky.) voted “no,” forcing Vance to step in and break the 50-50 tie. Murkowski and Collins had telegraphed their votes, but McConnell’s emerged as a surprise.
It is believed to be only the second time in history a vice president has had to step in to break a tie on a nominee. Former Vice President Mike Pence broke a tie to confirm Betsy DeVos as secretary of Education in 2017.
Hegseth, a former infantry officer in the Army National Guard who was awarded two Bronze Stars and later became a host at Fox News, is set to become the second-youngest secretary of Defense in history.
He is expected to aggressively pursue Trump’s agenda for the Pentagon, which includes eradication of DEI programs and an office established by former President Biden to protect civilians in war zones.
He previously stated his opposition to women serving in combat roles, but he assured senators during his confirmation process that he would support preserving women’s access to combat roles if they meet the standards for physically demanding jobs.
The Senate vote came at the end of a day of drama during which Democrats dragged out the floor debate as long as possible, refusing efforts by Republicans to move up the timing of the vote.
And rumors swirled through the Capitol Friday afternoon that Hegseth’s nomination might be torpedoed at the last minute by Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and McConnell, even though they both voted to advance him on Thursday.
Tillis signaled to colleagues that he could change his mind to oppose Hegseth if he found compelling evidence corroborating the allegations of drunkenness on the job, fiscal mismanagement or other misconduct.
In the end, Tillis voted for the nominee while McConnell opposed him.
Collins and Murkowski, meanwhile, had pledged to vote “no,” raising questions about Hegseth’s experience, qualifications and judgment.
Collins said she worries that Hegseth “does not have the management experience and background” needed to tackle the Defense Department’s challenges while Murkowski raised concerns about his “judgment,” citing the “multiple” infidelities he admitted to, including a sexual encounter with a woman who later accused him of assault.
Hegseth paid his accuser $50,000 as part of a legal settlement, but vigorously denied the assault allegation and claimed that he was the victim of a “smear” campaign.
Another high-profile Republican woman and military veteran, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), helped save his nomination by announcing last week that she would vote for him.
Ernst accused Democrats of playing politics by trying to drag him down with a mix of allegations spanning more than a decade.
She said colleagues tried to “score political points” at his hearing but “failed.”
Hegseth won Ernst’s backing after pledging to support women in combat and military procurement reform.
“Yes, women will have access to ground combat roles … given the standards remain high,” he told Ernst at his confirmation hearing.
Senate Armed Service Committee Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) praised Hegseth on the Senate floor as a “good choice” who would be “open to new ideas” and “not beholden to the status quo.”
Wicker’s unwavering support for the nominee was a big reason why he made it though the tough confirmation process.
The Mississippi Republican helped smooth the path by limiting senators to one round of questions at his confirmation hearing and declining Democratic requests to share his FBI background investigation widely among colleagues.
Hegseth’s nomination united Democrats in strong opposition, giving them something to rally against after their stunning defeats in November’s election.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) blasted Hegseth on the Senate floor as “one of the most erratic, unqualified and unfit Cabinet nominees we have ever seen in modern times.”
He warned Republican colleagues to think carefully about Hegseth’s thin résumé and history of questionable conduct before placing him in charge of the nation’s military.
“When you’re the one responsible for leading our armed forces, erratic behavior isn’t just a character flaw — it could mean the difference between entering or avoiding military conflict, between life and death for our troops,” he warned.
Hegseth’s path to confirmation was rattled earlier this week when Democrats revealed they had obtained a sworn affidavit by his former sister-in-law accusing him of being physically intimidating and frequently drunk, even while in military uniform.
The former relative said that Hegseth’s second wife told her that she once hid in her closet because she feared her husband.
But the damage of the statement was blunted by his second wife, Samantha Hegseth, who told NBC News “there was no physical abuse in my marriage.”
Democrats criticized Hegseth for refusing to meet with any of them except for Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), the ranking member on the Armed Services panel.
Democrats said Hegseth failed to explain how he would reduce costs and development times for critical military capabilities or invest in the defense industrial base, a priority
“Let’s be perfectly clear about the stakes here—we are talking about who we will put in command of the most powerful military in the world. There is nothing on Mr. Hegseth’s resume that remotely suggests he has the experience for the role,” said Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the senior Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, which funds the Pentagon’s budget.
Trump defended Hegseth as a “good man” earlier in the day but expressed some uncertainty about the outcome of the vote.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen. You never know with those things. But Pete’s a very, very good man. I hope he makes it,” Trump told reporters on the White House lawn.
He said he was “surprised” that Collins and Murkowski voted Thursday against advancing Hegseth to a final vote, even though Senate Republicans had long thought they would likely oppose him.
Trump, however, had appeared open to dropping Hegseth as his nominee in early December when he floated Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) as a possible Plan B to head the Pentagon.
Hegseth seemed to be in serious trouble after media outlets reported that a woman accused him in a police report of sexual assault at a Republican conference in Monterrey, California, in 2017.
That allegation was followed by reports of fiscal mismanagement and unprofessional behavior at the two advocacy groups he led, Veterans for Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America.
Hegseth admitted he was “not a perfect person” at his confirmation hearing and pledge to Republican senators that he would stop drinking if confirmed to serve as secretary of Defense.
