Pete Hegseth, the previous co-host of Fox & Associates Weekend, would be the subsequent secretary of protection, after he squeaked by Senate affirmation with Vice President JD Vance breaking a tie 50-50 vote.
It was an unusually shut name for a cupboard nominee, reflecting considerations over Hegseth’s expertise and allegations of sexual assault and heavy ingesting. Hegseth has denied plenty of claims, and mentioned {that a} sexual encounter with a lady in 2017 was consensual.
Three Republicans — Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) — voted in opposition to his nomination, becoming a member of with all Democrats. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) didn’t announce his choice on the Hegseth nomination till this night, when he mentioned that he would vote in favor of it.
Tillis wrote on X, “Pete has a novel perspective as a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and is certainly captivated with modernizing our army and supporting the courageous patriots like himself who serve our nation. I’ll assist his affirmation and stay up for working with him to rebuild our army and advance President Trump’s peace by means of energy agenda.”
“I believed I used to be executed voting within the Senate,” Vance posted on X earlier than breaking the tie.
Hegseth, a fight veteran, was Trump’s shock option to fill the position, by which he’ll oversee one of many world’s largest bureaucracies. He mentioned that his expertise gave him a novel perspective to give attention to enhancing the readiness of the armed forces.
However GOP holdouts had main reservations. Murkowski and Collins pointed to Hegseth’s previous feedback about girls serving in fight roles.
In a press release, McConnell mentioned, “Efficient administration of almost 3 million army and civilian personnel, an annual funds of almost $1 trillion, and alliances and partnerships all over the world is a each day check with staggering penalties for the safety of the American folks and our world pursuits.
“Mr. Hegseth has failed, as but, to show that he’ll cross this check. However as he assumes workplace, the implications of failure are as excessive as they’ve ever been.”
