Update 9:50 p.m.: JD Vance broke the tie with his yes vote moments ago, making Hegseth's confirmation official.
Original story:
Pete Hegseth will have enough votes to become Secretary of Defense, which is a tremendous victory for Donald Trump. The vote was 50-50, and Vice President JD Vance is expected to break the tie.
I thought I was done voting in the senate 😂
— JD Vance (@JDVance) January 25, 2025
All eyes were on the votes by Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), as Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) had previously indicated they were going to vote against Hegseth. McConnell voted no, but Tillis ultimately decided to vote for Hegseth's confirmation.
"From the beginning, I have been clear about my position: if President Trump’s nominees were reported favorably out of the relevant committees, I would support their confirmation on the Senate floor absent new material information about their qualifications," Tillis said in a statement posted to X. "Once Pete Hegseth’s nomination was sent to the floor by my colleagues on the Senate Armed Services Committee, I conducted my own due diligence, including asking tough questions of Pete and I appreciated his candor and openness in answering them."
Tillis continued, "Pete has a unique perspective as a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and is unquestionably passionate about modernizing our military and supporting the brave patriots like himself who serve our nation. I will support his confirmation and look forward to working with him to rebuild our military and advance President Trump’s peace through strength agenda."
Back in 2017, then Vice President Mike Pence had to break the tie to confirm Betsy DeVos as Trump’s education secretary. It was the first time a vice president had cast the tie-breaking vote for a cabinet nomination. Vance's vote will be the second in U.S. history.
Hegseth advanced from the Armed Services Committee by the narrowest margin, a 14-13 party-line vote. On the Senate floor, cloture was invoked at 51-49, barely avoiding a situation where Vice President JD Vance would’ve had to cast the deciding vote.
Democrats fought aggressively against Hegseth’s nomination, taking issue with his views on women in combat and raising questions about alleged alcohol abuse and misconduct, even resorting to dusting off their playbook from the Kavanaugh hearings when, earlier this week, senators received an affidavit from Hegseth’s former sister-in-law alleging behavior that he purportedly made his second wife fear for her safety. However, even Hegseth’s ex-wife says these allegations are not true.
Samantha Deering, Hegseth’s ex-wife, told NBC News, which first reported on the accusations, that the allegations were false.
“First and foremost, I have not and will not comment on my marriage to Pete Hegseth. I do not have representatives speaking on my behalf, nor have I ever asked anyone to share or speak about the details of my marriage on my behalf, whether it be a reporter, a committee member, a transition team member, etc.,” she wrote.
“I do not believe your information to be accurate, and I have cc’d my lawyer,” she added.
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