Senate nears final vote on Pete Hegseth for defense secretary, with some uncertainty
WASHINGTON – The Republican-controlled Senate is scheduled to vote Friday night on whether Pete Hegseth, President Donald Trump, should be confirmed TrumpControversial choice for Minister of Defense.
The vote is expected to be tight, with some uncertainty about where a few key Republicans in the 53-member caucus will land.
It comes one day after Hegseth was candidly nominated A major procedural hurdle has been cleared 51 to 49, with two Republicans — moderate Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine — voting with all Democrats to block it. He would need them to join at least two other Republicans in order to vote for his nomination.
Earlier on Friday, Trump mentioned Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. he wondered aloud to reporters Whether the former Senate Republican leader will ultimately back Hegseth remains to be seen.
“Of course Mitch is always a vote I don’t think so,” Trump said before adding: “Of course Mitch is always a vote I don’t think so.” What about Mitch? “
McConnell has not formally announced how the final confirmation vote will take place. Another representative in the same boat is Sen. Thom Tillis, R.N.C., who also voted Thursday to advance Hegseth’s nomination, but said Thursday that he is “still studying the record” and doing “due diligence” before arriving at a final decision.
It’s uncommon for senators to switch from “yes” on a procedural vote to “no” on a confirmation vote, but it happens sometimes.
Trump too He told reporters On Friday he was “very surprised” by Collins and Murkowski’s opposition to Hegseth.
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., who had a fiery exchange with Hegseth at his hearing, was hopeful Hegseth would fall short, while praising Murkowski’s “very comprehensive” statement about her opposition.
“If you look back, sometimes people strongly believed that every Cabinet nominee should get a floor vote. So voting that someone gets a floor vote is not the same thing as voting to the point that they should be in the Cabinet.” “. “It’s not often that people vote yes and then vote no, but it’s not like that, it’s not unheard of.”
Asked if he had spoken to GOP colleagues about this topic in recent hours, Kaine replied: “I have, but I have to keep it to myself.”
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss. , expressed confidence in Hegseth’s confirmation Thursday, though he said Vice President J.D. Vance should stay close in case he needs to break a 50-50 tie.
“If I was J.D. Vance, I’d walk around,” Wicker said.
Other Trump allies in the Senate praised Hegseth, a former Fox News anchor and Army combat veteran.
“You take a guy who served 20 years and been in combat, and he’s going to take the perspective of a warrior. You don’t win fights,” Sen. Markwayne Mullen, R-Okla., one of Hegseth’s top defenders on Capitol Hill, told NBC News.
“The Department of Defense will focus on warfighters again,” Mullen added, shaking things up. “This is what the American people want and this is what President Trump wants.”
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Collins said she had informed Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-R.I., of her opposition to Hegseth and had not personally heard from Trump. She said she stood by her decision.
“You voted the right way,” Collins said.
Hegseth’s nomination last month appeared to be on the verge of collapse after multiple news reports of detailed allegations about… Alcohol abuseand Sexual assault and Financial mismanagement Of the organizations he led. Hegseth has denied all these allegations.
NBC News reported in early December that Trump She considered getting rid of Hegseth As his choice to lead the Pentagon and replace him with one-time rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. But Trump has publicly stood by his defense choice, telling Hegseth:Keep fighting“As he navigated a difficult set of meetings with senators last month.
At a Jan. 14 confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Democrats hammered home his past controversies, as well as his past public comments that he disagreed. Women serve in combat – His position He walked In the session. The Armed Services Committee narrowly voted along party lines, 14-13, to boost his nomination to the floor.
However, even as his nomination moved forward, Hegseth, 44, continued to face intense scrutiny in the days leading up to the final vote.
On Thursday, NBC News obtained answers Hegseth provided to Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Md., as part of the confirmation process that showed he paid $50,000 to the woman who accused him of sexual assault in a California hotel room in 2017. (It was The Associated Press First to report settlement amount.)
Hegseth said the encounter was consensual, and the district attorney in the case dismissed the newspaper charges, saying that “no charges were supported by proof beyond a reasonable doubt.”
His lawyer, Timothy Parlatore, Hegseth said so He “felt strongly that he was the victim of extortion” and that he “ultimately decided to enter into a settlement for a significantly reduced sum” in the “rise of the Mito movement.”
Earlier this week, NBC News reported that Hegseth’s ex-sister was He said in a divided sinshared with senators, that he displayed “erratic and aggressive behavior over many years” and made his ex-wife, Samantha Hegseth, “fear for her safety” during their marriage.
The affidavit was filed in response to a request for information from Sen. Jack Reed, of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee. There was an affidavit Reported for the first time By NBC News.
Her brother-in-law’s sister, Danielle Hegseth, said she “did not personally witness physical or sexual abuse by Hegseth.” Samantha Hegseth said in a previous description that there was no physical abuse during the marriage. An attorney for his ex-wife has not responded to the previously unreported allegation.
“As NBC is well aware, the actual participant, Samantha, has denied these false claims, however, NBC continues to report irresponsible false claims by a mismatched third party as if they were fact,” Parlatore wrote in an email.
In a floor speech before Friday’s vote, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., argued that Hegseth was not qualified to lead the 2.8 million-person organization and urged Republicans to join Democrats in opposing Hegseth.
“The well-being of our troops stationed around the world is modeled by today’s vote,” Schumer said. “The security of the American people, for our children, families, neighbors and friends is modeled by today’s vote.” “In short, we shouldn’t, we can’t, you shouldn’t elevate someone as erratic as Pete Hegseth to Secretary of Defense. We can and must do better.”
Trump and his allies on Capitol Hill are trying to quickly acquire key members of the national security team. Earlier this week, Foreign Minister Marco Rubio He became Trump’s first Cabinet pick to be confirmed by the Senate, where he has served for the past 14 years representing Florida. The vote was 99 to 0.
On Thursday, the Senate voted to confirm John Ratcliffe As director of the CIA.
Thune threatened to keep senators in Washington over the weekend unless they can reach agreement on a schedule for upcoming nominations.
After Hegseth’s vote, the Senate will next consider the nominations of South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, Trump’s pick for Homeland Security secretary, and investor Scott Bessent, his Treasury Department nominee.
