Vance forced to break tie confirming Hegseth for defense secretary

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Lauren Taylor Anchor

By Lauren Taylor (Anchor), Roey Hadar (Producer), Zachary Hill (Video Editor)

The U.S. Senate voted to confirm Pete Hegseth for the role of secretary of defense Friday evening, Jan. 24. Hegseth’s confirmation comes after numerous controversies emerged following his nomination.

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Vice President JD Vance cast the tiebreaking vote after a 50-50 split, with three Republican senators –– Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska – voting against Hegseth’s confirmation.

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Hegseth most recently worked as a political commentator and host at Fox News after serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he received two Bronze Stars.

He has pledged to implement President Donald Trump’s proposals to eliminate diversity and alleged wokeness in the military.

But Hegseth faced controversy over his management of two veteran-focused political advocacy groups, as well as evidence alleging alcoholism and sexual misconduct.

The Minnesota native graduated from Princeton University in 2003, followed by more than a decade in the Army.

Hegseth ran an unsuccessful Senate campaign in Minnesota in 2012. He was also reportedly someone Trump considered to run the Department of Veterans Affairs during his first term.

Hegseth received some key support for his nomination, including from Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa. The senator backed Hegseth after originally expressing skepticism over his sexual assault allegations.

In 2017, a California Republican staffer told police that Hegseth sexually assaulted her and that she remembered repeatedly telling him no. Hegseth said he had sex with the woman and that it was consensual.

The Monterey County district attorney did not file charges. However, Hegseth paid the woman $50,000 as part of a 2020 settlement involving a non-disclosure agreement.

Reporting this week suggested more potential sexual misconduct, with outlets including NBC News and The Washington Post reporting that Hegseth’s former sister-in-law said he would get aggressively drunk, spout racist remarks and abuse his second wife.

The sister-in-law submitted a sworn affidavit this week to senators detailing the misconduct. The New York Times also reported that his second wife is under a non-disparagement clause from her ex-husband as part of their 2018 divorce agreement.

Before the final vote, Hegseth’s nomination advanced to the floor in a 51-49 vote, with Collins and Murkowski voting against.

McConnell was the only Republican to vote to advance the nomination but against the final confirmation.

Tags: Alcohol, Department of Defense, Diversity and inclusion programs, Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell, Pete Hegseth, Racism, Sex abuse, Susan Collins, The Pentagon, U.S. military

LAUREN TAYLOR: The US Senate voted to confirm Pete Hegseth for the role of Secretary of Defense Friday evening after controversies emerged about him following his nomination.

Vice President JD Vance cast the tiebreaking vote after a 50-50 vote, with three Republican Senators – Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska – voting against Hegseth’s confirmation.

Hegseth most recently worked as a political commentator and host at Fox News after serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he received two Bronze Stars.

He has pledged to implement President Trump’s proposals to eliminate diversity and alleged wokeness in the military.

But Hegseth faced controversy over his management of two veteran-focused political advocacy groups and evidence alleging alcoholism and sexual misconduct on his part.

The Minnesota native graduated from Princeton University in 2003, then spending over a decade in the Army.

He ran an unsuccessful Senate campaign in Minnesota in 2012 and was reportedly one of the people President Trump considered to run the Department of Veterans Affairs in his first term.

Hegseth received some key support for his nomination, including from Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst, who backed Hegseth after originally expressing skepticism about him due to the allegations of sexual assault against him.

In 2017, a California Republican staffer told police that Hegseth sexually assaulted her and that she remembered repeatedly saying no. Hegseth said he had sex with the woman but that it was consensual.

The Monterey County district attorney did not file charges but Hegseth paid the woman $50,000 as part of a 2020 settlement involving a non-disclosure agreement.

The sister-in-law submitted a sworn affidavit this week to senators detailing the misconduct and The New York Times reported his second wife is under a non-disparagement clause of her ex-husband as part of their 2018 divorce agreement.

Before the final vote, Hegseth’s nomination advanced to the floor on a 51-49 vote, with two Republicans, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, voting against.

McConnell was the only Republican to vote to advance the nomination but against the final confirmation.

For Straight Arrow News, I’m Lauren Taylor.

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