Pete Hegseth confirmed as Donald Trump's next defense secretary after tense Senate vote

Pete Hegseth has become Donald Trump's defense secretary after a tense vote in the Senate. In a dramatic late-night session, Vice President JD Vance had to split a tie-break as the room was landlocked at 50-50. It was only the second time in history that a Vice President had to break a Cabinet nominee tie.

Trump in tense clash with Democrat over LA wildfire response Doomsday map shows major US cities set to vanish underwater in 75 years The last instance was Mike Pence in 2017 as he chose Betsy DeVos to lead the education department. Rarely has a Cabinet nominee faced such wide-ranging concerns about his experience and behavior as Hegseth, particularly for such a high-profile role leading the U.S.



military. But the Republican-led Senate was determined to confirm Hegseth, a former Fox News host and combat veteran, to round out Trump's top national security Cabinet officials. Senate Majority Leader John Thune opened Friday’s session saying that Hegseth, as a veteran of the Army National Guard who served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, “will bring a warrior’s perspective” to the top military job.

“Gone will be the days of woke distractions,” Thune said, referring to the diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives being slashed across the federal government. “The Pentagon’s focus will be on war fighting.” “Is Pete Hegseth truly the best we have to offer?” said Sen.

Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, urging his colleagues to think seriously about their vote. Hegseth himself was working the phones late Friday to shore up his support, his confirmation at stake. “He’s a good man,” Trump said of Hegseth while departing the White House to visit disaster-hit North Carolina and Los Angeles.

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