{"id":19750,"date":"2025-01-25T03:40:01","date_gmt":"2025-01-25T03:40:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=19750"},"modified":"2025-01-25T03:40:01","modified_gmt":"2025-01-25T03:40:01","slug":"pete-hegseth-confirmed-as-trumps-defense-secretary-with-jd-vance-breaking-tie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=19750","title":{"rendered":"Pete Hegseth confirmed as Trump\u2019s defense secretary, with JD Vance breaking tie"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Pete Hegseth, an Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran and former Fox News host who promised to \u201creturn the Pentagon to the warfighters,\u201d was confirmed as President Trump\u2019s defense secretary in a dramatic Friday night Senate vote.<\/p>\n

The Senate voted 51-50 making Hegseth, 44, the leader of the nation\u2019s armed forces, with three Republicans \u2014 Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky \u2014 joining all 47 Democrats to oppose the appointment.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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\"President-elect11<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>
Pete Hegseth was confirmed as President Trump\u2019s Secretary of Defense in a near-party-line vote late Friday.Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Trump took notice of Hegseth for his fierce criticism of \u201cwoke\u201d military initiatives.AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Vice President JD Vance was needed to break a tie vote.<\/p>\n

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) had wavered in his support for Trump\u2019s nominee in the final moments leading up to the vote \u2014 but\u00a0issued an 11th hour statement<\/a>\u00a0from the floor that Hegseth had his full support after he \u201cconducted \u2026 due diligence\u201d on the nom.<\/p>\n

Tillis said he had asked \u201ctough questions of Pete and I appreciated his candor and openness in answering them.\u201d Hegseth shared a full copy of the letter he sent to the North Carolina Republican\u2019s office at about the same time, which included\u00a0a rebuttal of spousal abuse allegations<\/a>\u00a0from his former sister-in-law.<\/p>\n

Hegseth, a retired Army major and fierce critic of \u201cwoke\u201d military initiatives, was among the most controversial of Trump\u2019s cabinet appointments due to allegations of personal misconduct \u2014 including sexual assault.<\/p>\n

Despite the criticism, Trump had stood by Hegseth\u2019s nomination, insisting that an outsider was needed to shake up the Pentagon.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, lawmakers had voted 51-49 to end debate on Hegseth\u2019s nomination, with Collins and Murkowski voting to block it \u2014 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remain concerned about the message that confirming Mr. Hegseth sends to women currently serving and those aspiring to join,\u201d Murkowski said Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s fighting spirit.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe breathes the military. That\u2019s all he talks about,\u201d Army Sgt. Maj. Eric Geressy\u00a0said in an interview with The Post<\/a>. \u201cPete\u2019s extremely smart. He\u2019s very articulate, he\u2019s a critical thinker, and he\u2019s going to learn from the experts and get a lot of good information from folks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile 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,\u201d Collins said in explaining her \u201cno\u201d vote Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cPete\u2019s a very, very good man. I hope he makes it,\u201d Trump told reporters outside the White House Friday morning before the vote. \u201cI was very surprised that Collins and Murkowski would do that.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd of course Mitch is always a \u2018no\u2019 vote,\u201d he anticipated.<\/p>\n

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Hegseth is an Iraq and Afghanistan vet who has promised to \u201creturn the Pentagon to the warfighters.\u201dAFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In his confirmation hearing, Hegseth vowed to \u201cfocus on lethality and warfighting\u201d while preparing to \u201cdeter and prevent wars\u201d if necessary, aligning himself with Trump\u2019s foreign policy agenda.<\/p>\n

He also told senators that the president believed it was time to have someone \u201cwith dust on his boots\u201d lead the Defense Department.<\/p>\n

But reports surfaced shortly after Hegseth\u2019s nomination that an unnamed woman had accused Trump\u2019s Pentagon pick of raping her at a Monterey, Calif., hotel during the California Federation of Republican Women conference in October 2017.<\/p>\n

Democrats immediately\u00a0seized on the alleged sexual assault<\/a>, along with other accusations from anonymous former co-workers and\u00a0even a leaked email from Hegseth\u2019s own mother<\/a>, to try to tank the confirmation.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) released Hegseth\u2019s written\u00a0responses 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.<\/p>\n

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\u201cMr. Hegseth will concentrate on restoring American strength and repairing the deficiencies in our readiness,\u201d Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) declared in a floor speech.Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A lawyer for Trump\u2019s defense nominee has said the legal fees to fight the accusation in court would have been roughly equivalent to the settlement payment \u2014 and that the then-Fox News host\u00a0was effectively blackmailed<\/a>\u00a0during the #MeToo movement despite the sex having been consensual.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was falsely accused in October of 2017; it was fully investigated; and I was completely cleared,\u201d Hegseth testified during his confirmation hearing, dismissing all \u201canonymous\u201d accusations.<\/p>\n

A contemporaneous police report noted that security footage shows the woman did not appear intoxicated before the tryst \u2014 despite her telling authorities that \u201cthings got fuzzy\u201d while she was drinking with Hegseth at the hotel bar and didn\u2019t remember heading up to his room.<\/p>\n

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\"Sen.11<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>
On Thursday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) released Hegseth\u2019s written\u00a0responses to questions about the incident that revealed he paid the woman $50,000 in a settlement.AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re not anonymous,\u201d Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) fired back at Hegseth in the hearing earlier this month. \u201cWe have seen records with names attached to all of these, including the name of your own mother,\u201d citing an email Penelope Hegseth sent her son distraught over his marital infidelity.<\/p>\n

She later\u00a0apologized to him for<\/a>\u00a0sending it \u2014 and claimed the New York Times published it without full context after a reporter \u201cthreatened\u201d her.<\/p>\n

Hegseth also had to clear another hurdle after he declared on a podcast Nov. 7: \u201cWe should not have women in combat roles.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Pete11<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>
Hegseth reversed course in his confirmation hearing, saying: \u201cWomen will have access to ground combat roles, given combat standards remain high.\u201dREUTERS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He later reversed course and said in his confirmation hearing: \u201cWomen will have access to ground combat roles, given combat standards remain high.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

He also pledged to reinstate roughly 8,000 service members who were fired for not receiving COVID-19 vaccinations, saying each \u201cwill receive an apology, back pay and rank that they lost.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump stuck by his nominee throughout the process, praising Hegseth as \u201ca great student\u201d and predicting he would make a \u201chigh-energy, Secretary of Defense.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPete is a WINNER, and there is nothing that can be done to change that!!!\u201d the once and future president posted on his Truth Social in December.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s cabinet official would be taking the reins at a \u201cmoment of consequence.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"President11<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>
Trump stuck by his nominee throughout the process, praising Hegseth as \u201ca great student \u2013 Princeton\/Harvard educated \u2013 with a Military state of mind\u201d and predicting he would make a \u201chigh-energy, Secretary of Defense.\u201dREUTERS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe United States faces the most dangerous security environment since World War II,\u201dsaid Wicker, pointing to an \u201caxis of aggressors\u201d including \u201cChina, Russia, Iran and North Korea.\u201d<\/p>\n

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said Friday that Hegseth also \u201cwill provide much-needed fresh air at the Pentagon.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Hegseth will concentrate on restoring American strength and repairing the deficiencies in our readiness,\u201d Thune declared in a floor speech.<\/p>\n

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\u201cAs our first president said more than 200 years ago, and I quote, \u2018To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace.\u2019 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will continue to ensure that the Senate works as quickly as possible to get President Trump\u2019s team in place.\u201d<\/p>\n

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    Pete Hegseth, an Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran and former Fox News host who promised to \u201creturn the Pentagon to the warfighters,\u201d was confirmed as President Trump\u2019s defense … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19751,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19750","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19750"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19750\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19752,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19750\/revisions\/19752"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/19751"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}