Pete Hegseth, an Iraq and Afghanistan struggle veteran and former Fox Information host who promised to “return the Pentagon to the warfighters,” was confirmed as President Trump’s protection secretary in a dramatic Friday evening Senate vote.
The Senate voted 51-50 making Hegseth, 44, the chief of the nation’s armed forces, with three Republicans — Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky — becoming a member of all 47 Democrats to oppose the appointment.
JD Vance was compelled to grow to be solely the second vice chairman in US historical past to forged a tie-breaking vote for a cupboard official. Former Vice President Mike Pence helped verify Training Secretary Betsy Devos by providing the ultimate vote in 2017.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) had wavered in his assist for Trump’s nominee within the closing moments main as much as the vote — however issued an eleventh hour assertion from the ground that Hegseth had his full assist after he “carried out … due diligence” on the nom.
Tillis mentioned he had requested “powerful questions of Pete and I appreciated his candor and openness in answering them.” Hegseth shared a full copy of the letter he despatched to the North Carolina Republican’s workplace at about the identical time, which included a rebuttal of spousal abuse allegations from his former sister-in-law.
Hegseth, a retired Military main and fierce critic of “woke” army initiatives, was among the many most controversial of Trump’s cupboard appointments because of allegations of non-public misconduct — together with sexual assault.
Regardless of the criticism, Trump had stood by Hegseth’s nomination, insisting that an outsider was wanted to shake up the Pentagon.
On Thursday, lawmakers had voted 51-49 to finish debate on Hegseth’s nomination, with Collins and Murkowski voting to dam it — citing the allegations of sexual misconduct as nicely of alcohol abuse by the Trump choose, in addition to his lack of presidency expertise and his previous feedback opposing girls serving in fight roles.
“I stay involved in regards to the message that confirming Mr. Hegseth sends to girls at the moment serving and people aspiring to hitch,” Murkowski mentioned Thursday.
“Whereas the allegations of sexual assault and extreme consuming do nothing to quiet my considerations, the previous behaviors Mr. Hegseth has admitted to, together with infidelity on a number of events, reveal an absence of judgment that’s unbecoming of somebody who would lead our armed forces.”
Hegseth has additionally been accused of monetary mismanagement and binge-drinking on the job when he was serving because the chief of the nonprofit advocacy group Involved Veterans for America.
Co-workers have since disputed that characterization of his tenure on the group, whereas fellow troops who deployed with him to fight zones in Iraq and Afghanistan raved about Hegseth’s combating spirit.
“He breathes the army. That’s all he talks about,” Military Sgt. Maj. Eric Geressy mentioned in an interview with The Submit. “Pete’s extraordinarily good. He’s very articulate, he’s a vital thinker, and he’s going to study from the consultants and get quite a lot of good info from people.”
“Whereas I admire his brave army service and his ongoing dedication to our servicemembers and their households, I’m involved that he doesn’t have the expertise and perspective obligatory to achieve the job,” Collins mentioned in explaining her “no” vote Thursday.
“Pete’s a really, excellent man. I hope he makes it,” Trump informed reporters exterior the White Home Friday morning earlier than the vote. “I used to be very shocked that Collins and Murkowski would try this.
“And naturally Mitch is at all times a ‘no’ vote,” he anticipated.
In his affirmation listening to, Hegseth vowed to “concentrate on lethality and warfighting” whereas getting ready to “deter and forestall wars” if obligatory, aligning himself with Trump’s overseas coverage agenda.
He additionally informed senators that the president believed it was time to have somebody “with mud on his boots” lead the Protection Division.
However reviews surfaced shortly after Hegseth’s nomination that an unnamed lady had accused Trump’s Pentagon choose of raping her at a Monterey, Calif., lodge in the course of the California Federation of Republican Girls convention in October 2017.
Democrats instantly seized on the alleged sexual assault, together with different accusations from nameless former co-workers and even a leaked e-mail from Hegseth’s personal mom, to attempt to tank the affirmation.
On Thursday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) launched Hegseth’s written responses to questions in regards to the incident that exposed he paid the girl $50,000 in a settlement. The Monterey County DA by no means introduced expenses over the incident.
A lawyer for Trump’s protection nominee has mentioned the authorized charges to combat the accusation in court docket would have been roughly equal to the settlement fee — and that the then-Fox Information host was successfully blackmailed in the course of the #MeToo motion regardless of the intercourse having been consensual.
“I used to be falsely accused in October of 2017; it was totally investigated; and I used to be fully cleared,” Hegseth testified throughout his affirmation listening to, dismissing all “nameless” accusations.
A contemporaneous police report famous that safety footage reveals the girl didn’t seem intoxicated earlier than the tryst — regardless of her telling authorities that “issues obtained fuzzy” whereas she was consuming with Hegseth on the lodge bar and didn’t keep in mind heading as much as his room.
“They’re not nameless,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) fired again at Hegseth within the listening to earlier this month. “We now have seen information with names connected to all of those, together with the title of your personal mom,” citing an e-mail Penelope Hegseth despatched her son distraught over his marital infidelity.
She later apologized to him for sending it — and claimed the New York Occasions printed it with out full context after a reporter “threatened” her.
Hegseth additionally needed to clear one other hurdle after he declared on a podcast Nov. 7: “We must always not have girls in fight roles.”
He later reversed course and mentioned in his affirmation listening to: “Girls could have entry to floor fight roles, given fight requirements stay excessive.”
Hegseth additional promised to to not drink alcohol if he will get confirmed, in an effort to allay considerations about allegations he grew to become inebriated and needed to be carried out of labor features whereas heading up a veterans advocacy group within the 2010s.
He additionally pledged to reinstate roughly 8,000 service members who had been fired for not receiving COVID-19 vaccinations, saying every “will obtain an apology, again pay and rank that they misplaced.”
Trump caught by his nominee all through the method, praising Hegseth as “an awesome scholar” and predicting he would make a “high-energy, Secretary of Protection.”
“Pete is a WINNER, and there may be nothing that may be performed to vary that!!!” the as soon as and future president posted on his Fact Social in December.
Senate Armed Providers Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), who shepherded Hegseth via the affirmation course of, mentioned in a listening to earlier this month that Trump’s cupboard official could be taking the reins at a “second of consequence.”
“America faces essentially the most harmful safety setting since World Struggle II,”mentioned Wicker, pointing to an “axis of aggressors” together with “China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.”
Senate Majority Chief John Thune (R-SD) mentioned Friday that Hegseth additionally “will present much-needed contemporary air on the Pentagon.”
“Mr. Hegseth will think about restoring American power and repairing the deficiencies in our readiness,” Thune declared in a ground speech.
“As our first president mentioned greater than 200 years in the past, and I quote, ‘To be ready for struggle is among the most effectual technique of preserving peace.’ And in a world that has grown more and more unstable over the previous few years, our precedence needs to be guaranteeing that america army is ready to fulfill and defeat any risk,” he mentioned.
“I’ll proceed to make sure that the Senate works as shortly as potential to get President Trump’s staff in place.”
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