WASHINGTON — The Senate confirmed Pete Hegseth as the nation’s defense secretary in a dramatic late-night vote, swatting back questions about his qualifications to lead the Pentagon amid allegations of heavy drinking and aggressive behavior toward women.
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10 p.m. Update:
Trump talked up Hegseth moments before Vance cast the tiebreaking vote to confirm him.
“We have a great secretary of defense and we’re very happy,” Trump said as he boarded Air Force One after surveying fire devastation in California.
He said he didn’t care that McConnell voted against confirming him because the “important thing is winning.”
Original Story:
Vice President JD Vance was on hand to cast a tiebreaking vote, unusual in the Senate for Cabinet nominees, who typically win wider support. Hegseth himself was at the Capitol with his family.
After voting no for Hegseth, McConnell issued a scathing statement on his decision to go against one of Trump’s nominees.
“Mere desire to be a ‘change agent’ is not enough to fill these shoes. And ‘dust on boots’ fails even to distinguish this nominee from multiple predecessors of the last decade,” the Kentucky Republican said. “Nor is it a precondition for success. Secretaries with distinguished combat experience and time in the trenches have failed at the job.”
McConnell went on to detail the various international crises plaguing the U.S. from the Indo-Pacific to Eastern Europe.
“In public comments and testimony before the Armed Services Committee, Mr. Hegseth did not reckon with this reality,” he added.
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