Pete Hegseth needed a tiebreaking vote from JD Vance to confirm him as Donald Trump’s Defense Secretary after a last-minute meeting with an on-the-fence GOP Senator.
Despite defections from former Republican leader Mitch McConnell, as well as Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, a 50-50 tie was broken by Vice President Vance to send the nomination through and fill out Donald Trump’s Cabinet.
Upon hearing the outcome, Vance joked on social media: ‘I thought I was done voting in the senate.’
After Vance voted, Trump told reporters ‘we have a great secretary of defense and we’re very happy’ as he boarded Air Force One after surveying fire devastation in California.
He said he didn’t care that McConnell voted against confirming him because the ‘important thing is winning.’
He added on Truth Social: ‘Congratulations to Pete Hegseth. He will make a great Secretary of Defense!’
The Hegseth vote was Vance’s first tiebreak as vice president, who has always served as the Senate tiebreak. His predecessor, Kamala Harris, served this role on 33 occasions.
This would be only the second time in U.S. history a vice president would have to break a tie for a nominee.
The first occasion was for Trump’s education nominee in his first term, Betsy DeVos, the first of Mike Pence’s 13 tiebreaking votes as vice president.
There were rumors around Washington that former Republican leader Mitch McConnell and North Carolina’s Thom Tills’ votes were in question.
McConnell, who is hawkish on U.S. defense and foreign policy, had voted earlier this week to advance the nomination to the floor but was a no on confirmation.
In a statement, McConnell wrote that ‘In public comments and testimony before the Armed Services Committee, Mr. Hegseth did not reckon with this reality.’
Tills – who faces re-election in 2026 – told reporters he spoke to Hegseth for two hours earlier Friday and said that he was convinced and believed him.
Hegseth posted a letter he’d written to Tills on social media Friday clarifying some questions about his sister-in-law’s allegations that he’d abused his second wife.
The former Fox News host, 44, responded point-by-point to several of Danielle Dietrich’s allegations and finishes with Hegseth saying she is a ‘lifelong Democrat’ with ‘partisan and personal animosity’ toward him.
Tills responded in a statement of his own, writing: ‘Once Pete Hegseth’s nomination was sent to the floor by my colleagues on the Senate Armed Services Committee, I conducted my own due diligence, including asking tough questions of Pete and I appreciated his candor and openness in answering them.’
Hegseth is Donald Trump’s most controversial confirmation so far and he was skating on thin ice before getting a passing vote from senators Friday.
Directly after Trump announced Hegseth’s nomination in November the candidate was dogged with allegations, including drinking issues, sexual misconduct and poor business judgement.
The father of seven denies wrongdoing in those instances, and he credits God and his third wife Jennifer for helping him change course. ‘I’m not perfect,’ he testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee as his wife sat directly behind her husband in a show of support.
But in the past 24 hours just ahead of his final confirmation multiple Republicans turned their backs on Trump’s nominee and said they would not vote for him.
Despite this, Hegseth was confirmed into the Pentagon’s top job – proving that Donald Trump’s MAGA mandate has overcome even the most skeptical senators.
Hegseth did not win over all Republicans, however.
Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska revealed they would not back the candidate, in part due to the scandals hanging over him.
‘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,’ the 67-year-old Murkoswki wrote on X Thursday.
‘Given the global security environment we’re operating in, it is critical that we confirm a Secretary of Defense, however, I regret that I am unable to support Mr. Hegseth.’
Collins posted a similar tweet within just minutes of her fellow Republican: ‘After careful consideration, I have decided to vote against Pete Hegseth’s nomination for Secretary of Defense.’
‘The next Secretary of Defense will be responsible for managing a massive bureaucracy that includes nearly three million employees and a budget of nearly $850 billion,’ she wrote before noting ‘his limited managerial experience involved running two small non-profit organizations that had decidedly mixed results.’
Donald Trump opened up about his shock that two GOP senators are going against his choice for defense secretary Friday morning before the vote.
‘I was very surprised that Collins and Murkowski would do that,’ the president told reporters of the two veteran senators from Alaska and Maine.
Trump then correctly predicted that his old Senate rival Mitch McConnell would not back his Cabinet nominee.
‘And of course, Mitch is always a no vote, I guess,’ Trump added, mentioning the former longtime Senate GOP Leader.
‘Is Mitch a ‘no’ vote?’ the president added. ‘How about Mitch, huh? ‘Let’s see what happens.’
In a statement, McConnell slammed the nomination for what he called ‘the most consequential cabinet position in any administration.’
‘Mere desire to be a ‘change agent’ is not enough to fill these shoes. And ‘dust on boots’ fails even to distinguish this nominee from multiple predecessors of the last decade. Nor is it a precondition for success.’
‘Mr. Hegseth has failed, as yet, to demonstrate that he will pass this test. But as he assumes office, the consequences of failure are as high as they have ever been.’
He added that ‘Mr. Hegseth provided no substantial observations on how to defend Taiwan or the Philippines against a Chinese attack, or even whether he believes the United States should do so.’
‘He failed, for that matter, to articulate in any detail a strategic vision for dealing with the gravest long-term threat emanating from [China].’
McConnell at no point mentioned the allegations against Hegseth but said that his nomination was ‘trading one set of culture warriors for another’ from the ‘failed’ Biden Administration.
‘I wish Secretary Hegseth great success, and I look forward to working closely with him to restore American hard power. Every member of the uniformed services will be looking to him for decisive, principled, and nonpartisan leadership.’
Hours later on Thursday evening a report revealed how the nominee paid to a woman who accused him in 2017 of sexual assault $50,000.
The case was well publicized, but the payment was previously unknown until the AP got ahold of testimony Hegseth provided to Democrat Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
As his nomination teetered on the edge Republicans were able to band together despite losing some members to place Hegseth in Trump’s Cabinet.
Now the Senate will work over the weekend to prepare for Kristi Noem to be confirmed as Department of Homeland Security secretary.
Typically Cabinet-level roles with high national security importance are prioritized, as has been the case with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s nominations earlier this week.