By Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali and Patricia Zengerle
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Pete Hegseth won enough votes on Friday to become the next U.S. defense secretary, a landslide victory for President Donald Trump after fierce opposition from Democrats and even Republicans to his controversial nomination.
Hegseth was confirmed after a 50-50 vote in the Senate, when Vice President JD Vance came into the room to break a tie in his role as Senate president, after three Republicans joined all Democrats and independents in voting no.
Hegseth, a former Fox News personality and decorated veteran, promises to bring major changes to the Pentagon. But his leadership will come under increased scrutiny after a review of injury confirmation raised serious questions about his qualifications, attitude and views on women in the military.
“We’ve never had a defense secretary like Hegseth before,” said Jeremy Suri, a University of Texas at Austin history professor and presidential scholar.
Hegseth is the most divisive candidate to take the top job in the US military, a position that has gone to people with extensive experience running large organizations and who enjoy broad partisan support.
It was only the second time in history that a cabinet appointee needed a recess to be confirmed. The first was Trump’s nominee, Betsy DeVos, who became education secretary in 2017.
The three Republican senators who voted for Hegseth were Senators Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins and Mitch McConnell, who was the party leader in the chamber until this month.
McConnell said Hegseth has failed to demonstrate that he has the ability to effectively manage an organization as large and complex as the military. “The mere desire to be an ‘agent of change’ is not enough to fill these shoes,” McConnell said in a statement.
The top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, said in a statement that he would watch Hegseth “like a hawk” and “demand accountability.”
Hegseth will lead the 1.3 million active duty members and nearly 1 million civilians who serve in the U.S. military, with an annual budget of nearly $1 billion. Hegseth told lawmakers that, so far, the largest team he’s managed was 100 people and the largest budget was $16 million.
His appointment was rocked by many allegations, including one this week from his ex-sister-in-law, who said he abused his second wife until he hid in a closet and had a secret name he could use with his friends if he needed to be rescued. Hegseth denied these allegations and his wife previously denied that there was any physical abuse.
TRUMP AFTER THE ELECTION
Trump, whose nominees for the FBI and intelligence chief are also under Senate scrutiny, stood firm on his choice and put heavy pressure on other Republicans to support the 44-year-old television personality.
Suri said the vote showed the extent of Trump’s strength at the start of his second term in office.
“It means that Trump has a lot of power over Republicans and members of the Senate,” he said.
Before Friday’s vote, Trump admonished two Republicans, Senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins, who voted against Hegseth in Thursday’s procedural test.
“I’m very surprised that Collins and Murkowski would do that,” Trump told reporters Friday morning.
But most Senate Republicans fell in line to defend the nominee, who they say will restore the concept of the “hero” to America’s military.
Hegseth has criticized diversity, equality and inclusion programs in the military, and, in his latest book, questioned whether a top US general has a job because he is black. Reuters had previously reported on a possible major firing among the top brass, something Hegseth repeatedly declined to confirm.
OPPOSITE WOMEN IN LIFE
For years, Hegseth strongly opposed women in combat roles but backed down when he gained support, including from military veterans such as Republican Senator Joni Ernst.
Ernst was one of 14 Republicans on the Armed Services Committee who voted for Hegseth when the committee supported him 14 to 13, with all Democrats opposing his nomination.
Several episodes have raised concerns about Hegseth, including allegations of sexual harassment in 2017 that did not result in charges and that Hegseth denies. Sexual harassment is an ongoing problem in the US military.
Hegseth has also been accused of heavy drinking and mismanagement of funds at veterans organizations. He swore and asserted that if it was confirmed he would give up alcohol and said that he made financial mistakes but denied that he did anything wrong.
In a 2021 incident first reported by Reuters, Hegseth was called an “insider threat” by a member of the Army National Guard because of his tattoos. Hegseth noted this incident during the trial, which led to him being removed from the security service in Washington during the inauguration of Biden.
He takes office as the Trump administration has said that border security and immigration will be a major focus of the US military.
On Friday, a US military C-17 aircraft began flying migrants out of the country following Trump’s orders, the first time the US military has been involved in recent deportations.
The Pentagon has announced plans to send 1,500 troops to the border following Trump’s orders, a number that looks set to increase quickly. US officials told Reuters on Friday that the military was preparing to send a second wave of troops, possibly from the 82nd Airborne.
Little is known about where Hegseth stands on key foreign policy issues such as arming Ukraine, how he would prepare the U.S. military for a possible conflict with China and whether he would want to reduce the U.S. military presence in places like Syria and Iraq.
The near-partisan confirmation vote was a departure from a position that Republican and Democratic administrations have long sought to ensure bipartisanship.
President Joe Biden’s former defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, was confirmed by a 93-2 vote in 2021, while Jim Mattis, Trump’s first defense secretary in his last administration, was confirmed by a 98-1 vote in 2017.
Hegseth’s Republican supporters in the Senate have argued that he has admitted personal shortcomings, including a past of dishonesty and drinking, and is the right person to restore the Pentagon’s war-winning mission.
The last defeated defense secretary nominee was Senator John Tower in 1989. Tower was investigated for alleged drunkenness and inappropriate behavior towards women.
