Pete Hegseth Confirmed as US Secretary of Defense Following Tie-Breaking Vote

The Senate confirmed Donald Trump's pick for US Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, late Friday night, despite misconduct allegations that nearly derailed his confirmation. Vice

President JD Vance cast the tie-breaking vote in Hegseth's favor after three Republican senators, including former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, opposed him.

For Hegseth's nomination to be defeated, four Republicans would have needed to join the 47 Democratic and independent senators who voted against him. McConnell's surprise vote led to a 50-50 tie in the Senate until Vance came along to break it.

McConnell explained his vote by releasing a strong statement in which he criticized Hegseth for not being prepared to lead such a large department with three million employees, manage such a massive budget, and coordinate with global allies.

He stated that the role of defense secretary is "a daily test with staggering consequences for the security of the American people" and added, "Hegseth has yet to demonstrate that he can meet this challenge."

In confirming Hegseth, Vance became only the second vice president in US history to cast a tie-breaking vote to confirm a cabinet nominee. That was Mike Pence, Trump's former vice president, who cast the deciding vote to confirm Betsy DeVos as education secretary in 2017.

"Warfighting, lethality, meritocracy, standards, and readiness. That's my job," Hegseth said during his confirmation hearing earlier this month.

Democrats in the Senate had major qualms about Hegseth's readiness to head one of the country's biggest agencies, based on his record as a military veteran.

At 44, Hegseth is a veteran of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars and later worked at Fox News. However, he lacks the traditional experience typically expected for a national security cabinet role, which is usually filled by senior civil servants, seasoned politicians, generals, or high-level executives.