Mr. Hegseth needed a simple majority in the 100 person Senate to be confirmed as Defence Secretary and with Republicans holding the chamber 53-47, a vote along party lines would have seen Hegseth confirmed.
Those senators voting no were Lisa Murkowski from Alaska, Susan Collins from Maine and Mitch McConnell from Kentucky.
This is only the second time in history that a vice president has broken a tie for a Cabinet nominee. The other was Mike Pence, who did so in 2017 for Betsy DeVos to head the education department.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune opened Friday’s session saying that Hegseth, as a veteran of the Army National Guard who served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, “will bring a warrior’s perspective” to the top military job.
The Senate’s ability to confirm Hegseth despite a grave series of allegations against him provided a measure of Trump’s political power and ability to get what he wants from the GOP-led Congress, and of the potency of the culture wars to fuel his agenda at the White House.
“Is Pete Hegseth truly the best we have to offer?” said Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, urging his colleagues to think seriously about their vote.
“He’s a good man,” Trump said of Hegseth while departing the White House to visit disaster-hit North Carolina and Los Angeles. “I hope he makes it.”
New Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth pumps his fist after a Senate Armed Services confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill on January 14, 2025 in Washington, (Photo: Andrew Harnik/ Getty Images)But Democrats gravely opposed to Hegseth had little power to stop him, and instead resorted to dragging out the process.
Hegseth faces allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman at a Republican conference in California, though he has denied the claims and said the encounter was consensual. He later paid US$50,000 to the woman.
During a fiery confirmation hearing, Hegseth dismissed allegations of wrongdoing one by one, and vowed to bring “warrior culture” to the top Pentagon post.
But Republican senators facing an intensive pressure campaign by Trump allies to support Hegseth have stood by his nomination, echoing his claims of a “smear” campaign against him.
Hegseth’s comments that women should have no role in military combat drew particular concern on Capitol Hill, including from lawmakers who themselves served. He has since tempered those views as he met with senators during the confirmation process.
“I remain concerned about the message that confirming Mr. Hegseth sends to women currently serving and those aspiring to join,” Murkowski wrote on social media.
But one prominent Republican, Joni Ernst of Iowa, herself a combat veteran and sexual assault survivor, came under harsh criticism for her skepticism toward Hegseth and eventually announced she would back him.
Hegseth would lead an organization with nearly 2.1 million service members, about 780,000 civilians and a budget of $850 billion.
“What is clear to me at the end of this process is that Mr. Hegseth does not check any of the boxes,” said Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, a former Navy combat pilot who flew missions during Operation Desert Storm.
Trump raised the idea of so-called “recess appointments” during a private White House meeting with Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson. But that is an extreme, and potentially difficult, step that some GOP senators want but several other senators on both sides of the aisle are trying to avoid.
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