Vice President Vance casts tie-breaking Senate vote to narrowly confirm Pete Hegseth as defense secretary
CNN
The Senate narrowly voted to confirm embattled Pete Hegseth as secretary of the Department of Defense, in a major win for President Donald Trump and his new administration.
The Senate narrowly voted to confirm embattled Pete Hegseth as secretary of the Department of Defense, in a major win for President Donald Trump and his new administration. Vice President JD Vance cast the 51-50 tie-breaking vote after former GOP Leader Mitch McConnell and GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine joined Democrats to oppose Hegseth’s nomination. It was just the second time in history that a vice president has broken a tie for a Cabinet nominee – the other being then-Vice President Mike Pence for Betsy DeVos’ 2017 confirmation to lead the Education Department. Hegseth’s confirmation process has been mired in allegations of sexual assault, alcohol abuse and financial mismanagement of veterans’ charities, all of which he has denied. The Friday vote marked a significant victory for the Trump administration, which has gone to the mat backing Hegseth as its nominee, despite his lack of experience and allegations against him. Hegseth was in the Senate Friday night to watch his confirmation vote. As secretary, he has sworn to overhaul the department, particularly policies that he considers “woke,” and streamline its bureaucracy. Speaking during his confirmation hearing, Hegseth told lawmakers he would like to restore a “warrior culture” to the Pentagon.
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