Vice President J.D. Vance cast his first tie-breaking vote on Friday night to help the Senate confirm Pete Hegseth as defense secretary, as the nominee convinced just enough Republicans that attacks on his character and qualifications were unfounded.
The final vote was 51-50, with three Republicans — Sens. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — joining all Democrats in opposition.
It was only the second time in U.S. history that a vice president cast the tie-breaking vote to confirm a Cabinet nominee. The first was when Vice President Mike Pence did it to make Betsy DeVos the education secretary in President Trump’s first term.
Republicans who supported Mr. Hegseth said they’re looking forward to his plans to shake up the Pentagon, eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and focus on meritocracy-based standards that will promote military readiness.
“Mr. Hegseth will bring a warrior’s perspective to the role of defense secretary and will provide much-needed fresh air at the Pentagon,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, South Dakota Republican, said. “Gone will be the days of woke distractions. The Pentagon’s focus will be on warfighting.”
Mr. Hegseth, an Army combat veteran and former Fox News host, is considered an unconventional pick to lead the Defense Department given his limited leadership experience and lengthy record of eyebrow-raising public commentary, including repeated remarks suggesting women should not serve in combat.
Concerns about his qualifications compounded after allegations emerged that he mismanaged finances and overlooked inappropriate behavior of employees at two veterans organizations he ran from 2007-2016, sexually assaulted a woman in 2017 and abused alcohol throughout that period and beyond.
Mr. Hegseth and his allies launched an aggressive public relations campaign to save his nomination, dismissing the allegations as anonymous, politically targeted smears. They fought back with on-the-record statements of support from numerous associates he served with in the military or worked with afterward at veterans organizations and Fox News.
By the time one of Mr. Hegseth’s accusers went public on Tuesday — his former sister-in-law submitted an affidavit to the Armed Services Committee alleging he engaged in alcohol and spousal abuse — he appeared to have shored up enough support among Republicans to win confirmation.
But a previously declared supporter, North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, wavered after reading Danielle Hegseth’s testimony that her former brother-in-law made his ex-wife fear for her safety and that she witnessed several occasions in which he abused alcohol and would make disparaging comments about women and racial minorities.
Mr. Hegseth sent Mr. Tillis a last-minute letter on Friday disputing Ms. Hegseth’s claims, saying they “never got along” and she is a Democrat who harbors “partisan and personal animosity” towards him. He said his ex-wife Samantha already refuted the abuse allegations and he admitted to being drunk at times, but not to the extremes his former sister-in-law described.
“I have been very open about how I have used alcohol in the past to deal with the demons that I have experienced from my time in Iraq and Afghanistan, as countless of my fellow veterans have,” he said. “However, this is something that I have overcome.”
Mr. Tillis ended up voting for Mr. Hegseth, saving his nomination.
Senate Armed Services Chairman Roger Wicker, who didn’t find any credibility to the allegations, said Mr. Hegseth did an “excellent” job weathering the attacks.
“He’s been through combat. He’s tough and resilient,” the Mississippi Republican said.
Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a senior Democrat on the Armed Services panel, said he was “strongly disappointed” but not surprised that Republicans confirmed Mr. Hegseth given the “relentless” pressure campaign from Mr. Trump and his allies.
Going forward, he said, they’ll be keeping an extra eye on the Pentagon.
“I think we’re going to have to be very tough on our oversight and scrutiny,” Mr. Blumenthal said.
Mr. Hegseth’s partisan confirmation vote is not an anomaly in the context of other Trump nominees, both from his first term and what’s still to come in his second. But it is atypical for a defense secretary nominee not to earn bipartisan support.
President Biden’s defense secretary Lloyd Austin won confirmation with 93 votes, with only two Republicans voting against him and five others not voting.
Mr. Trump’s first-term Pentagon picks, James Mattis and Mark Esper, earned 98 votes and 90 votes, respectively. Only one Democrat voted against Mr. Mattis, while eight opposed Mr. Esper.
President Obama’s first defense secretary, Leon Panetta, was unanimously confirmed, and the two successors that followed him during the Obama administration also had bipartisan support. However, Chuck Hagel did face significant Republican opposition, earning support from only four GOP senators in his 58-49 confirmation vote.
“I refuse to believe that Pete Hegseth is the best that Republicans can come up with for secretary of Defense. There are surely other individuals – plenty of others – the president could nominate that would be conservative voices,” said Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat. “We would disagree with their views, but at least we’d have to admit they’re qualified.”
Many Democrats said their no votes on Mr. Hegseth were the first they’ve ever cast against a defense secretary nominee, including Senate Armed Services ranking member Jack Reed of Rhode Island, who has served in the Senate since 1997.
“At a bare minimum, former secretaries of defense have had the experience, wisdom, and character to do that job,” Mr. Reed said. “Mr. Hegseth, however, is simply not qualified to meet the overwhelming demands to be secretary of defense.”
Mr. Reed cited a variety of sources, including Mr. Hegseth’s own writings, that “implicate him with disregarding the laws of war, financial mismanagement, racist and sexist remarks about men and women in uniform, alcohol abuse, sexual assault, sexual harassment, and other troubling issues.”
He said Mr. Hegseth “dodged and deferred” when asked about those issues during his confirmation hearing and did nothing “to alleviate the fears my colleagues and I have that there is blackmail material and a pattern of abuse in his personal history that could be used by adversaries to try to influence him.”
Mr. Hegseth, despite denying that he sexually assaulted a woman in 2017, admitted he settled a lawsuit with her years later to avoid a hit to his reputation. The settlement amount was $50,000, the Associated Press reported on Thursday, hours after Mr. Hegseth already cleared a key test vote in the Senate.
Republicans dismissed the sexual assault allegation given Mr. Hegseth’s denial and the fact that prosecutors declined to bring charges after a police report was filed and investigated. Their concerns about reports of his excessive drinking were abated when Mr. Hegseth promised he would not drink if confirmed.
Mr. Hegseth notably sipped on coffee instead of the champagne offered to toast Mr. Trump during the inaugural luncheon at the Capitol on Monday.
Mr. Wicker said Mr. Hegseth’s unconventionality is what makes him a good choice to lead the Pentagon.
“He is not beholden to the status quo, and he is open to new ideas,” he said. “His experience in the line of fire and his servicemember advocacy make at least one thing clear: Pete Hegseth will put the men and women of our military first.”
• Lindsey McPherson can be reached at lmcpherson@washingtontimes.com.