The Senate confirmed Pete Hegseth as defense secretary on Friday, a victory for President Donald Trump’s new administration after his 44-year-old nominee was dogged by allegations of sexual assault, public drinking and drunkenness and abusing women.
Hegseth, a former Fox News host and military veteran, won the support of all but three Republicans to win confirmation in a 51-50 vote, with Vice President J.D. Vance breaking the tie. “I thought I had the Senate voted down,” Vance, a former Ohio senator, quipped as the vote came in, adding a laughing-crying emoji.
Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the former Republican Senate leader who has clashed with Trump before, joined all Democrats in voting against him. Hegseth appeared in person for the vote, which is unusual.
McConnell said in a statement that leading the United States armed forces is “an enormous and serious responsibility.” Leading its 3 million personnel with a $1 trillion budget “is a daily test with staggering consequences for the security of the American people and our global interests.”
“Mr. Hegseth has yet to demonstrate that he will pass this test,” he said. “But as he takes office, the consequences of failure are more grave than ever.”
Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., chairman of the Armed Services Committee, which oversaw Hegseth’s nomination process, said he knew about McConnell’s surprise vote in advance. He said he had not read the former GOP leader’s statement but that he had heard it was “candid.”
Senator Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee who opposed Hegseth’s confirmation from the start, said in a statement that he respected the outcome of the vote but would “keep a close eye on him, as I have on previous secretaries of state from both parties.”
Overseeing the largest government agency
Hegseth will now take charge of the nation’s largest government agency, with 3 million military and civilian personnel and an $850 billion budget under the Pentagon’s jurisdiction.
Hegseth’s chances of confirmation appeared dim after his former sister-in-law claimed in signed testimony shared with the Senate Armed Services Committee that Hegseth would get drunk, pass out and vomit, and frighten his ex-wife to the point that she would hide from him in a closet. His ex-wife also testified about Hegseth’s drinking to the FBI, which tipped off Sens. Roger Wicker and Jack Reed, the Republican chair and top Democratic member of the committee.
His nomination was also held up by an eight-year-old sexual assault allegation against him. Hegseth paid money to the woman who made the allegation, who sought treatment for sexual assault after drinking with Hegseth at a California hotel at a conservative convention, to prevent her from speaking publicly about the incident.
Reports of Hegseth’s excessive drinking also surfaced during his nomination process. A veterans organization that Hegseth led fired him from his job due to his drinking, and he was seen drinking or intoxicated while on the job at Fox News, according to a New Yorker report published in December.
During Hegseth’s confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee last week, Democrats also scrutinized the nominee’s past comments in which he opposed women serving in military combat roles
Though he walked back his position in the weeks before the vote, Democrats pointed to his recent comment in a podcast interview just before the nomination: “I am saying straight up that we should not put women in combat roles.” Those comments angered female veterans and lawmakers, who warned that removing women from those roles would have serious consequences for the military.
Hegseth’s background, particularly her minimal government experience, is a far cry from previous defense secretaries. But her criticism of military leadership — that it has neglected its central mission of warfighting to promote diversity initiatives and cultural sensitivity — dovetails with attacks on “wokeness” that are central to Trump’s political approach.
