6 days ago
3
The Senate voted to corroborate President Donald Trump's nominee, Pete Hegseth, arsenic defence caput connected Friday nighttime aft a high-tempered conflict to sway lawmakers successful his favour that was astir derailed by accusations astir his behavior.
The last ballot came down to the wire: 3 Republicans opposed, making for a 50 to 50 vote. Vice President JD Vance was needed to interruption the necktie successful the precocious chamber.
The Senate’s 2 mean Republican women: Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, voted no. As did Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the erstwhile GOP leader.
North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis' enactment was not a given, and helium did not uncover his stance until the ballot was already underway. He yet said helium would backmost Trump's pick, giving him capable enactment to beryllium confirmed with Vance's tie-breaking vote.
MODERATE REPUBLICAN MURKOWSKI WON'T BACK TRUMP PICK HEGSETH FOR DEFENSE SECRETARY
In her reasoning, Murkowski cited infidelity, "allegations of intersexual battle and excessive drinking" and Hegseth's erstwhile comments connected women serving successful the military.
The behaviors helium has admitted to alone, she said, amusement "a deficiency of judgement that is unbecoming of idiosyncratic who would pb our equipped forces."
Concerned Veterans for America (CVA), the nonprofit advocacy radical astatine the halfway of galore of the accusations brought up during Hegseth's confirmation hearing, praised his confirmation successful a statement.
"The confirmation of Pete Hegseth arsenic Secretary of Defense presents a existent accidental to prioritize the information and prosperity of our citizens, champion prudence and effectiveness successful our defence strategy, and absorption our Department of Defense connected America’s astir captious interests," the connection read.
The New Yorker reported successful December that Hegseth was forced retired of CVA, the radical helium erstwhile ran, implicit allegations of fiscal mismanagement, intersexual impropriety and idiosyncratic misconduct.
All Democrats opposed the confirmation, a acold outcry from an earlier ballot this week, erstwhile Secretary of State Marco Rubio was confirmed unanimously, 99-0.
Hegseth volition present pb the government’s largest agency, having agelong promised to basal retired Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) measures crossed each branch.
HEGSETH CLEARS SENATE HURDLE AND ADVANCES TO A FINAL CONFIRMATION VOTE
The Pentagon nether Trump, however, has not waited for a confirmed secretary.
This week, the commandant of the Air Force's 613th Air Operations Center successful Hawaii, who had advocated for much women successful roles similar her own, was removed from her position. Gen. Kevin Schneider, commandant of Pacific Air Forces, relieved Col. Julie Sposito-Salceies from the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, "due to nonaccomplishment of assurance successful her quality to bid the organization."
Shortly aft Trump took office, Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan, the archetypal uniformed pistillate to pb immoderate subject branch, was removed from her position.
Trump this week besides nominated erstwhile Space Force Lt. Col. Matthew Lohmeier and erstwhile Marine Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller to apical Defense Department posts – some men who were profoundly captious of the Biden administration's policies astatine the Pentagon.
Lohmeier, who had been nominated to serve arsenic undersecretary of the Air Force, was fired arsenic commandant of the 11th Space Warning Squadron astatine Buckley Air Force base, aft helium wrote a publication and appeared connected podcasts claiming Marxism had infiltrated the equipped forces and criticizing diverseness policies.
Scheller made headlines for posting videos successful azygous criticizing elder subject leaders implicit the Afghanistan withdrawal. Scheller, the caller elder advisor to the Department of Defense Under Secretary for unit and readiness, was sent to the brig and court-martialed implicit the clips.
Hegseth’s information was dealt a last-minute hurdle earlier this week erstwhile reports emerged that his ex-sister-in-law alleged helium had abused his 2nd wife.
On Tuesday, Fox News obtained an affidavit from Hegseth's erstwhile sister-in-law, Danielle Hegseth, which alleged helium had an intoxicant maltreatment occupation and astatine times made his ex-wife, Samantha, fearfulness for her safety. Danielle Hegseth was antecedently joined to Pete Hegseth's member and has nary narration to Samantha.
But Danielle Hegseth added that she ne'er witnessed immoderate maltreatment herself, carnal oregon sexual, by Pete against Samantha.
Samantha Hegseth has besides denied immoderate carnal maltreatment successful a connection to NBC News.
Senate Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker said successful a connection Wednesday night that reports "regarding a confidential briefing connected the FBI inheritance probe of Pete Hegseth that I received past week are starkly and factually inaccurate," and that helium stands by Hegseth’s nomination.
Earlier Thursday, Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., urged Republicans to articulation him successful opposing the erstwhile Fox News big and Army nationalist guardsman.
HEGSETH LAWYER SLAMS 'FLAWED AND QUESTIONABLE AFFIDAVIT' FROM EX-SISTER-IN-LAW
"Hegseth is truthful utterly unqualified, helium ranks up determination [as] … 1 of the precise worst nominees that could beryllium enactment forward," Schumer said.
Hegseth, who has been joined 3 times, has admitted helium was a "serial cheater" earlier helium became a Christian and joined his existent wife, Jenny.
The 44-year-old Army National Guard veteran, who did tours successful Iraq and Afghanistan, is comparatively young and inexperienced, compared to defence secretaries successful the past, retiring arsenic a major. But Republicans accidental they don’t privation idiosyncratic who made it to the apical brass who's go entrenched successful the Pentagon establishment.
English (US) ·