Pete Hegseth, an Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran and former Fox News host who promised to “return the Pentagon to the warfighters,” was confirmed as President Trump’s defense secretary in a dramatic Friday night Senate vote.
The Senate voted 51-50 making Hegseth, 44, the leader of the nation’s armed forces, with three Republicans — Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky — joining all 47 Democrats to oppose the appointment.
JD Vance was forced to become only the second vice president in US history to cast a tie-breaking vote for a cabinet official. Former Vice President Mike Pence helped confirm Education Secretary Betsy Devos by offering the final vote in 2017.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) had wavered in his support for Trump’s nominee in the final moments leading up to the vote — but issued an 11th hour statement from the floor that Hegseth had his full support after he “conducted … due diligence” on the nom.
Tillis said he had asked “tough questions of Pete and I appreciated his candor and openness in answering them.” Hegseth shared a full copy of the letter he sent to the North Carolina Republican’s office at about the same time, which included a rebuttal of spousal abuse allegations from his former sister-in-law.
Hegseth, a retired Army major and fierce critic of “woke” military initiatives, was among the most controversial of Trump’s cabinet appointments due to allegations of personal misconduct — including sexual assault.
Despite the criticism, Trump had stood by Hegseth’s nomination, insisting that an outsider was needed to shake up the Pentagon.
On Thursday, lawmakers had voted 51-49 to end debate on Hegseth’s nomination, with Collins and Murkowski voting to block it — citing the allegations of sexual misconduct as well of alcohol abuse by the Trump pick, as well as his lack of government experience and his past comments opposing women serving in combat roles.
“I remain concerned about the message that confirming Mr. Hegseth sends to women currently serving and those aspiring to join,” Murkowski said Thursday.
“While the allegations of sexual assault and excessive drinking do nothing to quiet my concerns, the past behaviors Mr. Hegseth has admitted to, including infidelity on multiple occasions, demonstrate a lack of judgment that is unbecoming of someone who would lead our armed forces.”
Hegseth has also been accused of financial mismanagement and binge-drinking on the job when he was serving as the leader of the nonprofit advocacy group Concerned Veterans for America.
Co-workers have since disputed that characterization of his tenure at the group, while fellow troops who deployed with him to combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan raved about Hegseth’s fighting spirit.
“He breathes the military. That’s all he talks about,” Army Sgt. Maj. Eric Geressy said in an interview with The Post. “Pete’s extremely smart. He’s very articulate, he’s a critical thinker, and he’s going to learn from the experts and get a lot of good information from folks.”
“While I appreciate his courageous military service and his ongoing commitment to our servicemembers and their families, I am concerned that he does not have the experience and perspective necessary to succeed in the job,” Collins said in explaining her “no” vote Thursday.
“Pete’s a very, very good man. I hope he makes it,” Trump told reporters outside the White House Friday morning before the vote. “I was very surprised that Collins and Murkowski would do that.
“And of course Mitch is always a ‘no’ vote,” he anticipated.
In his confirmation hearing, Hegseth vowed to “focus on lethality and warfighting” while preparing to “deter and prevent wars” if necessary, aligning himself with Trump’s foreign policy agenda.
He also told senators that the president believed it was time to have someone “with dust on his boots” lead the Defense Department.
But reports surfaced shortly after Hegseth’s nomination that an unnamed woman had accused Trump’s Pentagon pick of raping her at a Monterey, Calif., hotel during the California Federation of Republican Women conference in October 2017.
Democrats immediately seized on the alleged sexual assault, along with other accusations from anonymous former co-workers and even a leaked email from Hegseth’s own mother, to try to tank the confirmation.
On Thursday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) released Hegseth’s written responses to questions about the incident that revealed he paid the woman $50,000 in a settlement. The Monterey County DA never brought charges over the incident.
A lawyer for Trump’s defense nominee has said the legal fees to fight the accusation in court would have been roughly equivalent to the settlement payment — and that the then-Fox News host was effectively blackmailed during the #MeToo movement despite the sex having been consensual.
“I was falsely accused in October of 2017; it was fully investigated; and I was completely cleared,” Hegseth testified during his confirmation hearing, dismissing all “anonymous” accusations.
A contemporaneous police report noted that security footage shows the woman did not appear intoxicated before the tryst — despite her telling authorities that “things got fuzzy” while she was drinking with Hegseth at the hotel bar and didn’t remember heading up to his room.
“They’re not anonymous,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) fired back at Hegseth in the hearing earlier this month. “We have seen records with names attached to all of these, including the name of your own mother,” citing an email Penelope Hegseth sent her son distraught over his marital infidelity.
She later apologized to him for sending it — and claimed the New York Times published it without full context after a reporter “threatened” her.
Hegseth also had to clear another hurdle after he declared on a podcast Nov. 7: “We should not have women in combat roles.”
He later reversed course and said in his confirmation hearing: “Women will have access to ground combat roles, given combat standards remain high.”
Hegseth further promised to not to drink alcohol if he gets confirmed, in an effort to allay concerns about allegations he became inebriated and had to be carried out of work functions while heading up a veterans advocacy group in the 2010s.
He also pledged to reinstate roughly 8,000 service members who were fired for not receiving COVID-19 vaccinations, saying each “will receive an apology, back pay and rank that they lost.”
Trump stuck by his nominee throughout the process, praising Hegseth as “a great student” and predicting he would make a “high-energy, Secretary of Defense.”
“Pete is a WINNER, and there is nothing that can be done to change that!!!” the once and future president posted on his Truth Social in December.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), who shepherded Hegseth through the confirmation process, said in a hearing earlier this month that Trump’s cabinet official would be taking the reins at a “moment of consequence.”
“The United States faces the most dangerous security environment since World War II,”said Wicker, pointing to an “axis of aggressors” including “China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said Friday that Hegseth also “will provide much-needed fresh air at the Pentagon.”
“Mr. Hegseth will concentrate on restoring American strength and repairing the deficiencies in our readiness,” Thune declared in a floor speech.
“As our first president said more than 200 years ago, and I quote, ‘To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace.’ And in a world that has grown increasingly unstable over the past few years, our priority has to be ensuring that the United States military is prepared to meet and defeat any threat,” he said.
“I will continue to ensure that the Senate works as quickly as possible to get President Trump’s team in place.”
