The Senate on Friday confirmed Pete Hegseth for Protection secretary, a triumphant second for the previous Fox Information host who overcame allegations of sexual misconduct, alcohol abuse and inexperience to achieve one of many nation’s most vital positions.
Republicans largely rebuffed these accusations and accepted Hegseth with the assistance of Vice President JD Vance, who broke a uncommon 50-50 tie, within the first huge nomination struggle for President Donald Trump’s Cupboard. Hegseth’s affirmation may easy the best way for different controversial Trump administration picks.
He’ll enter the Pentagon with a said want — and a mandate from the president — to upend conventional practices, from the function of prime generals to the place U.S. forces are stationed abroad.
The brand new Pentagon chief embodies Trump’s grievances, notably in regards to the unfold of variety applications within the navy. He insists they’ve distracted from the pressure’s core mission of maintaining the nation protected.
Hegseth will seemingly spend his first days on the Pentagon addressing Trump’s push to make use of the navy for deportations, assessing international troop deployments, eliminating variety applications and figuring out which prime navy officers will keep of their jobs.
The Protection Division is bracing for change.
“He got here throughout in his listening to like a school junior enthusiastic about all the brand new ideas he discovered in school,” mentioned one protection official, granted anonymity to talk candidly about their new boss. “Individuals get that ASEAN isn’t the one acronym he doesn’t know.”
Hegseth, already an unconventional decide for the Pentagon job, was dogged by allegations of sexual misconduct — together with a 2017 sexual assault accusation that he denies however for which he paid a monetary settlement to his accuser. And simply days earlier than the vote, senators obtained an affidavit from Hegseth’s former sister-in-law alleging that he abused his second spouse and frequently abused alcohol. Hegseth has denied all wrongdoing.
All Democrats opposed Hegseth. Three Republicans, Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — and, notably, former GOP Senate chief Mitch McConnell of Kentucky — voted in opposition to him.
No GOP defection is extra stunning than McConnell. The previous chief was the architect of many Republican legislative victories throughout Trump’s first time period, together with the affirmation of Supreme Courtroom Justice Brett Kavanaugh amid sexual assault allegations.
The Kentucky Republican, a Reaganite protection hawk who now chairs the panel that controls the Pentagon funds, has set himself up as a counterweight to Trump on international coverage. He’s attacked the extra isolationist Trump-aligned wing of the GOP and not too long ago criticized Trump administration Pentagon hires who’ve opposed U.S. engagement within the Center East.
McConnell, in a biting assertion after the vote, solid doubt that Hegseth has the expertise wanted to tame the huge forms.
“Mere want to be a ‘change agent’ isn’t sufficient,” McConnell mentioned. “And ‘mud on boots’ fails even to differentiate this nominee from a number of predecessors of the final decade. Neither is it a precondition for fulfillment.”
Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina was seen as a possible defector, however after assembly with Hegseth announced he’d back Trump’s nominee.
Democrats pointed to mounting allegations as proof of Hegseth’s unfitness for the job and a flawed vetting course of.
“Of all of the individuals we may have as secretary of Protection, is Pete Hegseth actually the very best one we have?” Senate Minority Chief Chuck Schumer mentioned. “Come on, you already know he is not. You understand he isn’t even shut.”
Hegseth’s coverage plans are solely vaguely identified. His views on the Pentagon funds and acquisition course of got here up throughout his listening to, however they didn’t differ significantly from the Biden administration’s efforts.
The brand new Pentagon chief has already promised to deliver tradition wars to the division. Hegseth, at his affirmation listening to, mentioned troops will “rejoice” at his push away from Biden-era social insurance policies.
“They need to deal with lethality and warfighting, and get all of the woke political prerogative, politically appropriate social justice political stuff out of the navy,” he advised senators.
Hegseth has additionally adopted Trump’s lead on slamming the navy’s prime generals as out of contact. He has complained that the Pentagon is top-heavy with three- and four-star generals. However it’s not clear how that modifications within the close to time period, as any purge would have big penalties down the chain of command.
The struggle over his nomination and private conduct drew comparisons to 2 previous Senate affirmation battles: Kavanaugh and former Sen. John Tower. Republicans likened the allegations in opposition to Hegseth to Kavanaugh, arguing each have been motivated by partisan makes an attempt to sink the nominees.
Tower, a former Senate Armed Companies chair, was rejected by the Senate in 1989 to be then-President George H.W. Bush’s Pentagon chief amid allegations of previous alcohol abuse that have been corroborated by an FBI background overview.
Hegseth pledged to not eat alcohol if confirmed to the job, much like a promise Tower made in a bid to save lots of his nomination.
Democrats have taken goal at a lot of Hegseth’s controversial statements — together with opposing girls in fight roles and homosexual individuals serving within the navy, criticizing variety efforts within the ranks and defending U.S. troops convicted of conflict crimes.
Hegseth has walked again his rhetoric on girls in fight and homosexual troops serving in uniform, though it hasn’t satisfied his detractors. Collins mentioned Thursday she was “not satisfied that his place on girls serving in fight roles has modified.”
His opponents additionally argued Hegseth — who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and left the Military Nationwide Guard as a serious in 2021 — lacks the character {and professional} background to run the federal government’s largest company.
Hegseth spun his lack of conventional Pentagon expertise as a optimistic and argued to senators that the forms would profit from a frontrunner “with mud on his boots.”
His staunchest allies argued that, whereas unconventional, he’s Trump’s option to shake up the Pentagon’s forms and might be backed by a workforce of skilled officers.
“He’s not beholden to the established order and is open to new concepts,” Senate Armed Companies Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) mentioned in a speech this week. “He’s intent on lethality and readiness, as we must always all be.”
Joe Gould, Paul McLeary and Jack Detsch contributed to this report.
