[The Senate narrowly voted to confirm Pete Hegseth as secretary of the Department of Defense, in a major win for President Donald Trump and his new administration. The vote was a 51-50 tie, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote. Hegseth’s confirmation comes despite allegations of sexual assault, alcohol abuse, and financial mismanagement of veterans’ charities, which he denies.
Hegseth’s confirmation process has been marked by controversy, with some Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins, joining Democrats in opposing his nomination. Although the vote was a victory for the Trump administration, the Senate’s slim majority means that only two more GOP senators would have been needed to reject the nomination.
As secretary, Hegseth has promised to overhaul the department, particularly policies that he considers “woke,” and streamline its bureaucracy. He has also vowed to restore a “warrior culture” to the Pentagon, a goal that has been met with criticism from some lawmakers, including McConnell, who charged that the restoration of such a culture will not come from trading one set of “culture warriors” for another.
Despite the controversy surrounding his nomination, Trump expressed his confidence in Hegseth, saying that he would be a “great secretary.” Hegseth will be sworn in as secretary of defense on Saturday morning by Vice President Vance at the White House.
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