Written by Phil Stewart, Idris Ali and Patricia Zengerle
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Hegseth narrowly secured enough votes on Friday to become the next U.S. defense secretary, a major victory for President Donald Trump after fierce opposition from Democrats and even some Republicans to his controversial nominee.
Hegseth was confirmed after a 50-50 vote in the Senate, when Vice President J.
Hegseth, a former Fox News personality and veteran, promises to bring big changes to the Pentagon. But his leadership will be under intense scrutiny after a bruising confirmation review raised serious questions about his qualifications, temperament and views on women in combat.
“We've never had a Secretary of Defense like Hegseth before,” said Jeremy Sorey, University of Texas, Austin, professor of history and presidential scholar.
Hegseth is the most divisive candidate for the top U.S. Army job, a position that has historically gone to candidates with deep experience running large organizations and who enjoy broad bipartisan support.
This was only the second time in history, that a Cabinet nominee needed to confirm a tie. The first was also Trump's nominee, Betsy DeVos, who became Secretary of Education in 2017.
The three Republican senators who voted against Hegseth were Senators Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins and Mitch McConnell, the party leader in the chamber until this month.
McConnell said Hegseth failed to prove he had the ability to run an institution as large and complex as the military. “Just wanting to be a ‘change agent’ is not enough to fill these shoes,” McConnell said in a statement.
Hegseth will lead 1.3 million active duty members and about 1 million civilians who work for the US military, which has an annual budget of $1 trillion. Hegseth told lawmakers that up to this point, the largest group he had managed was 100 people and the largest budget was $16 million.
His candidacy has been rocked by a series of accusations, including one this week by his ex-sister, who said he abused his second wife to the point where she hid in a closet and had a code word to use with friends if she had to be rescued. Hegseth has vehemently denied the accusations and his wife has previously denied any physical abuse.
Trump is frankly behind the choice
Trump, who is the subject of the FBI's investigations process and the Senate's intelligence chief, has criticized his choice and widespread pressure on fellow Republicans to support the 44-year-old TV personality.
Suri said the vote showed how strong Trump is at the beginning of his second term in office.
“This certainly means that Trump has tremendous leverage over the Republican Party and over the senators,” he said.
Before Friday's vote, Trump had warned off two fellow Republicans, Senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins, who voted against Hegseth in a procedural test vote on Thursday.
“I was very surprised that Collins and Murkowski would do that,” Trump told reporters on Friday morning.
But most Republicans in the Senate fell into the line of defense of the candidate who they said would restore a “warrior” mentality to the US military.
Hegseth has criticized diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in the military, and asked in his latest book whether America's top general has the job because he is black. Reuters previously reported on the possibility of a mass shooting among the top brass, something he repeatedly refused to rule out during the confirmation process.
Women opponents in combat
For years, Hegseth has staunchly opposed women in combat roles, but he walked that stance while withholding support for his confirmation, including from military veterans like Republican Sen. Joni Ernst.
Ernst was one of 14 Armed Services Committee Republicans who voted for Hegseth when the committee supported him 14 to 13, with every Democrat opposing his nomination.
A number of episodes raised concern about Hegseth, including a 2017 sexual assault allegation that did not result in charges and Hegseth denies. Sexual assault is an ongoing problem in the US military.
Hegseth has also been accused of excessive drinking and financial mismanagement at veterans organizations. He has pledged to abstain from alcohol if confirmed and said he made financial mistakes but denied any wrongdoing.
In a 2021 incident first reported by Reuters, Hegseth was described as an “insider threat” by a fellow Army National Guard member over the tattoo. Hegseth noted the incident during the hearing, prompting him to be pulled from Guard duty in Washington during Biden's inauguration.
The Trump administration has assumed that border security and immigration will be a focus for the US military.
On Friday, US military C-17 aircraft began moving detained migrants out of the country following orders from Trump, in the first involvement by the US military in deportations in recent memory.
The Pentagon announced plans to send 1,500 actual troops to the border in response to Trump's orders, a number that appears poised to grow quickly. US officials on Friday told Reuters that the military was preparing to send in a second wave of troops, likely from the 82nd airborne.
Little is known about where Hegseth stands on key foreign policy issues like arming Ukraine, how he will prepare the US military for a potential conflict with China and whether he will seek to expand the US military footprint in places like Syria and Iraq.
The party-line confirmation vote was almost a departure for an incumbent whose bipartisanship has long been sought by Republican and Democratic administrations.
Joe Biden's former Defense Secretary, Lloyd Austin, was confirmed by a 93-2 vote in 2021, and Jim Mattis, Trump's first defense secretary in his last administration, was confirmed 98-1 in 2017.
Hegseth's Republican supporters in the Senate have argued that he has admitted personal failings, including infidelity and a drinking past, and is the right person to bring the Pentagon's core mission of winning wars back into focus.
The last Defense Secretary nominee to be defeated was former Senator John Tower in 1989. Tower was investigated for claims of drunkenness and inappropriate behavior with women.
