WASHINGTON — The Republican-controlled Senate on Friday night confirmed Pete Hegseth as defense secretary by the narrowest of margins, with Vice President JD Vance casting a tie-breaking vote and delivering a victory for President Donald Trump.
The initial vote was 50-50, with three Republicans — Sens. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine — joining all 47 Democrats in voting no.
Vance then cast the 51st vote, putting Hegseth over the top and ending weeks of uncertainty over the fate of Trump’s controversial pick to lead the Pentagon.
It marked only the second time in history a vice president was needed to break a tie for a Cabinet level nominee. In 2017, then-Vice President Mike Pence broke a 50-50 tie to confirm Betsy DeVos as Education secretary in Trump’s first term.
“Congratulations to Pete Hegseth. He will make a great Secretary of Defense!” Trump posted on Truth Social after the vote.
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McConnell’s vote was a stunning rebuke of Hegseth — and Trump, whom the former Senate Republican leader has clashed with repeatedly over the years.
“Effective management of nearly 3 million military and civilian personnel, an annual budget of nearly $1 trillion, and alliances and partnerships around the world is a daily test with staggering consequences for the security of the American people and our global interests,” McConnell said in a scathing statement that suggested Hegseth had not shown he is up for the job.
“Mr. Hegseth has failed, as yet, to demonstrate that he will pass this test,” McConnell’s statement continued. “But as he assumes office, the consequences of failure are as high as they have ever been.”
But McConnell’s opposition wasn’t enough to tank Hegseth.
Shortly after the vote began, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who in recent days was still seeking answers from Hegseth, announced on X that he would vote in favor of him, essentially guaranteeing confirmation.
“Once Pete Hegseth’s nomination was sent to the floor by my colleagues on the Senate Armed Services Committee, I conducted my own due diligence, including asking tough questions of Pete and I appreciated his candor and openness in answering them,” Tillis said in his statement.
“Pete has a unique perspective as a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and is unquestionably passionate about modernizing our military and supporting the brave patriots like himself who serve our nation,” he added.
In a rare move, Hegseth, a former Fox News anchor and Army combat veteran, was on hand for the vote, sitting just off the Senate floor with his wife, parents and children. He showed his family the rotunda and could be overheard telling them, “This was where President Trump was inaugurated.”
Friday’s vote came one day after Hegseth’s nomination narrowly cleared a key procedural hurdle 51 to 49, with Collins and Murkowski voting with all Democrats to block him.
Earlier in the day, Trump mentioned McConnell unprompted and wondered aloud to reporters whether he would ultimately support Hegseth.
“Of course, Mitch is always a no vote, I guess,” Trump said, before adding, “Is Mitch a no vote? How about Mitch?”
He also said he was “very surprised” that Collins and Murkowski opposed Hegseth.
McConnell and Tillis had voted to advance Hegseth’s bid, but Tillis had said he was “still examining the record” and doing “extensive due diligence” before arriving at a final decision. Both senators would face reelection in 2026 if they chose to run for another term.
It is uncommon for senators to switch from “yes” on a procedural vote to “no” on the confirmation vote, but it sometimes happens.
Speaking to reporters Friday, Collins said she had informed Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., of her opposition to Hegseth and had not personally heard from Trump. She said she stood by her decision.
“I made the right vote,” Collins said.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., expressed confidence Hegseth would be confirmed on Thursday, although he foreshadowed just how close the vote might be, saying Vance might be needed.
“If I were JD Vance, I’d stick around,” Wicker said.
On Friday, Vance, who until recently represented Ohio in the Senate, joked on X: “I thought I was done voting in the senate.”
From the verge of collapse to confirmation
Friday’s vote marked a dramatic comeback for Hegseth, whose nomination just last month appeared to be on the verge of collapse after multiple news reports detailed allegations of alcohol abuse, a sexual assault and the financial mismanagement of organizations that he led. Hegseth has denied all of these allegations.
NBC News reported in early December that Trump considered ditching Hegseth as his pick to lead the Pentagon and replacing him with his one-time rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. But Trump publicly stood by his pick, telling Hegseth to “keep fighting” as he navigated a gauntlet of tough meetings with senators last month.
At his Jan. 14 confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Democrats zeroed in on his past controversies, as well as his past public comments that he opposed women serving in combat — a position he walked back at the hearing. The Armed Services panel narrowly voted along party lines, 14 to 13, to advance his nomination to the floor.
Still, even as his nomination marched forward, Hegseth, continued to face intense scrutiny in the days leading up to the final vote.
On Thursday, NBC News obtained answers Hegseth provided to Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., as part of the confirmation process showing that he had paid $50,000 to the woman who accused him of sexual assault in a California hotel room in 2017. (The Associated Press was the first to report the settlement amount.)
Hegseth has said the encounter was consensual, and the district attorney in the case declined to press charges, saying that “no charges were supported by proof beyond a reasonable doubt.”
His lawyer, Timothy Parlatore, has said that Hegseth “strongly felt that he was the victim of blackmail” and that he “ultimately decided to enter into a settlement for a significantly reduced amount” at the “height of the MeToo movement.”
Earlier this week, NBC News reported that a former sister-in-law of Hegseth’s had said in a sworn affidavit, shared with senators, that he had demonstrated “erratic and aggressive behavior over many years” and had made his ex-wife, Samantha Hegseth, “fear for her safety” while they were married.
The affidavit was submitted in response to a request for information from Sen. Jack Reed, of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee. The existence of the affidavit was first reported by NBC News.
The ex-sister-in-law, Danielle Hegseth, said she “did not personally witness physical or sexual abuse by Hegseth.” Samantha Hegseth said in a previous statement that there was no physical abuse during the marriage. A lawyer for his ex-wife did not respond to the previously unreported allegation.
Parlatore wrote in an email: “As NBC is well aware, the actual participant, Samantha has denied these false allegations, yet NBC continues to irresponsibly report false allegations by an uninvolved third party as if they were fact.”
After the vote, Democrats expressed disgust at the outcome: “Unfortunately, my Republican colleagues are really pretty spineless,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. “This vote may well haunt them.”
Trump and his allies on Capitol Hill are trying to quickly get key members of his national security team in place. Earlier this week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio became the first Trump Cabinet pick to be confirmed by the Senate, where he had served for the past 14 years representing Florida. The vote was 99 to 0.
And on Thursday, the Senate voted to confirm John Ratcliffe as CIA director.
After the Hegseth vote, the Senate will next consider the nominations of South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Trump’s pick to be Homeland Security secretary, and investor Scott Bessent, the treasury secretary nominee.
