JD Vance forced to break Senate tie in Pete Hegseth confirmation

The Senate confirmation of Pete Hegseth as Donald Trump’s next Secretary of Defense was hung up late Friday evening in a last-minute nail-biter vote following several misconduct allegations that threatened to tank his nomination.

All the Democrats and a surprise third Republican — Kentucky’s Mitch McConnell, along with expected no votes from Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine — opposed his nomination. Vice President JD Vance quickly arrived in the Senate after the vote to break the 50-50 tie.

McConnell, the former Senate majority leader and a massive military hawk, startled many by showing up to the Senate and voting against Hegseth’s confirmation. His move forced Vance to cast his first tiebreaking vote as the president of the Senate. When Vance arrived, Senate Republicans broke out in applause.

North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis, meanwhile, who had not earlier tipped his hand either way, showed up for the vote with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, the Democrat who had grilled Hegseth about his views on women serving in the military.

Tillis, a Republican who faces re-election in 2026 in a state Trump barely won, had to contend with the fact he might face a Republican primary challenger as well as a strong Democratic opponent before he ultimately voted for Hegseth’s confirmation.

Shortly before Tillis announced his vote, Hegseth posted a letter on X that he had sent Tillis that broke down the details in the sworn affidavit about him that his ex-sister-law filed this week, and refuted claims she had made about an abusive marriage.

The incredibly tight vote brought an end to Hegseth’s highly controversial pick by Donald Trump to run the Defense Department.

A former Fox News host, Hegseth’s nomination was on shaky ground from the start, as he quickly came under fire for multiple infidelities, accusations of sexual misconduct, and previous comments about women in combat. He faced allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman in 2017, with a police report revealing that the woman had accused him of blocking the door of his hotel room to prevent her from leaving. The accusation led to a repoted $50,000 nondisclosure settlement, but Hegseth has denied any misconduct.

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Hegseth served in the Army National Guard, but critics charged that he lacked the experience necessary to lead a federal bureaucracy as massive as the Pentagon. The Defense Department is the largest federal operation, with a budget of $842 billion and 2.8 million employees.

In addition, Hegseth has faced numerous allegations of public drunkenness and mismanagement of the veterans non-profits he led — claims he has denied and dismissed as a “smear campaign.”

NBC News reported this week that Hegseth’s former sister-in-law wrote in a sworn affidavit to Congress that Hegseth made his ex-wife fear for her safety, though Hegseth’s ex-wife told the network “there was no physical abuse in my marriage.” However, Hegseth’s ex-wife, who is bound by a non-disparagement clause in her divorce settlement, did not deny that she feared for her life and had a safety code to reach out for help, as the affidavit claimed.

During his confirmation hearing, Hegseth faced questions from Democrats about his previous comments, namely his remarks that “we should not have women in combat roles” and that mothers in particular should not serve in combat units.

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But Republican lawmakers rallied to Hegseth’s defense as his confirmation quickly became a Trump loyalty test. During the confirmation hearing, Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, began Hegseth’s confirmation hearing by saying the negative stories about Hegseth came “from liberal media publications.”

Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma used the hearing to ask his colleagues, “How many senators have shown up drunk to vote at night?” and “how many senators do you know have gotten divorced for cheating on their wives?”

Initially, Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, a veteran herself and sexual assault survivor, seemed uncertain about voting for Hegseth, but faced pressure from many conservative activists. During Hegseth’s hearing, Ernst asked Hegseth if he would continue supporting women having combat roles, which Hegseth confirmed.

Shortly thereafter, Ernst, who is up for re-election in 2026, announced she would vote to confirm Hegseth.

Hegseth will inherit numerous challenges, including Ukraine’s ongoing war against Russia started by Russian President Vladimir Putin, and China’s attempts to incorporate Taiwan. The military has also faced difficulty recruiting after winding down two long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Trump’s nomination of Hegseth symbolizes his push to install loyalists to the highest branches of the government. During his first term, Trump nominated James Mattis, a retired four-star Marine general, to lead the Pentagon, followed by Mark Esper, a former Raytheon executive who served in the U.S. Army for almost three decades.

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But Mattis would later resign in protest of Trump’s decision to remove U.S. forces from Syria. Esper later divulged in his memoir that Trump asked Esper if the U.S. military could shoot Black Lives Matter protesters in the legs.

Trump also clashed with army General Mark Milley, whom he nominated to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who later apologized after he appeared in his military outfit for a photo-op at Lafayette Square during the protests of 2020. Former president Joe Biden issued a pre-emptive pardon to Milley to prevent retribution from Trump shortly before he left office.

Earlier this week, the White House sent more than 150 civil service experts in the National Security Council home as the administration vet whether they are sufficiently loyal to Trump.

The Senate voted this week to confirm Marco Rubio, the former senator from Florida, as secretary of state, and John Ratcliffe to lead the CIA. Trump also announced his firing of Coast Guard Adm Linda Fagan, the commandant of the US Coast Guard, via a post on Truth Social.

But Trump faces numerous challenges with future confirmations, including that of Kash Patel, his choice to lead the FBI, and Tulsi Gabbard, his nominee for Director of National Intelligence.