VANCE breaks the draw to confirm Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense

Vice President Vance broke a tie in the Senate on Friday to confirm Pete Hegseth as President Trump’s Secretary of Defense, ending with a two -month deck on the candidate, who faced a litany of complaints that included poor sexual behavior, bad. Financial management and excessive alcohol consumption.

Republican senator Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Susan Collins (Mine) and Mitch McConnell (Ky.) Voted “No” and forced Vance to intervene and break the equity 50-50. Murkowski and Collins had telegated their votes, but McConnell’s was a surprise.

It is believed to be only the second time in history that a vice president must intervene to break the tie with a candidate. Former Vice President Mike Pence broke the draw to confirm Betsy Devos as Secretary of Education in 2017.

Hegseth, a former Army National Guard Infantry officer who received two bronze stars and later became host of Fox News, will become the second youngest Secretary of Defense in History.

It is expected that the Trump’s agenda for the Pentagon will be aggressively followed, which includes the eradication of DEI programs and an office established by former President Biden to protect civilians in war areas.

He previously declared his opposition to women who serve in combat roles but he assured senators during their confirmation process that would support women’s access to combat roles if they meet standards for physically demanding work.

The Senate vote was at the end of a day of drama during which the Democrats extended the debate as long as possible, rejecting the efforts of Republicans to advance the time of voting.

And the rumors ran through the Capitol on Friday afternoon that Hegseth’s nomination could be torpedoed at the last minute by Senators Thillis (RNC) and McConnell, although they both voted in favor of him on Thursday.

Tillis told his colleagues that he could change his mind to oppose Hegseth if he found compelling evidence that they would corroborate the accusations of intoxication at work, mismanagement or other undue behaviors.

In the end, Tillis voted for the candidate while McConnell opposed him.

Collins and Murkowski, meanwhile, had pledged to vote “no”, and asked questions about the experience, qualifications and Hegseth judgment.

Collins said he is concerned that hegseth “It does not have the management experience and the background” necessary to address the challenges of the Department of Defense, while Murkowski stated his concern about his “judgment”, citing the “multiple” infidelities he admitted, including a sexual encounter With a woman who later accused him of aggression. .

Hegseth paid his accuser $ 50,000 as part of a legal agreement, but strongly denied the accusation of aggression and stated that he was the victim of a “slander” campaign.

Another high-profile republican woman and a military veteran, Senator Joni Ernst (R-IAWA), helped save her nomination last week announcing her.

Ernst accused Democrats of politics trying to drag him with a mixture of allegations that cover more than a decade.

He said that his colleagues sought to “point political points” to his audience, but “have failed.”

Hegseth won the support of Ernst after committing to support women in combat and reform of military hiring.

“Yes, women will have access to land combat roles … Since standards are still high,” Ernst told his confirmation audience.

The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) He praised Hegseth in the Senate as a “good choice” that would be “open to new ideas” and “no duty of the status quo”.

Wicker’s disturbing support for the nominee was a great reason why he achieved the harsh confirmation process.

The Mississippi Republican helped to soften the path by limiting senators to a round of questions to their confirmation audience and rejecting Democrats to widely sharing their FBI fund research among their peers.

Hegseth’s nomination united the Democrats in a strong opposition, giving them something to manifest after their impressive defeats in the November election.

The Democratic leader of the Chuck Schumer (NY) criticized Hegseth in the Senate as “one of the most erratic, unskilled and unparalleled cabinet candidates we have ever seen in modern times.”

He warned the Republican colleagues that he was carefully thought of in Hegseth’s Curriculum and the History of questionable behaviors before putting him at the helm of the nation’s army.

“When you are responsible for directing our armed forces, erratic behavior is not only a character defect, but could mean the difference between entering or avoiding a military conflict, between life and death for our troops,” warned.

Hegseth’s way to confirmation was twisted earlier this week when Democrats revealed yes obtained an affidavit Due to his former sister-in-law, accusing him of physically intimidating and often drunk, even while carrying his military uniform.

The old relative said that Hegseth’s second wife told him that he once hid in his closet because he was afraid of her husband.

But the damage of the statement was mitigated by his second woman, Samantha Hegseth, who told NBC News that “there was no physical abuse in my marriage.”

The Democrats criticized Hegseth for refusing to meet with any of them, except with Senator Jack Reed (Dr.i.), the ranking member of the armed services panel.

Democrats said that Hegseth did not explain how it would reduce the costs and development times of critical military capacities or invest in the industrial defense base, a priority.

“We have perfectly clear what is at stake here: We are talking about who we will put in the world’s most powerful army command. There is nothing in the curriculum of Mr Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.), The senior Democrat of the Appropriating Committee, which finances the Pentagon budget, said.

Trump defended Hegseth as a “good man” at the beginning of the day, but expressed some uncertainty about the result of the vote.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen. You never know these things. But Pete is a very good man. I hope you succeed, “Trump told the journalists on the lawn of the White House.

He said he was “surprised” That Collins and Murkowski voted on Thursday against advancing Hegseth to a final vote, although the Senate Republicans had long thought they would probably oppose.

Trump, however, had seemed willing to leave Hegseth as his candidate in early December when he presented the governor of Florida Ron Desantis (on the right) as a possible B plan to direct the Pentagon.

Hegseth seemed to have serious problems after the media reported that a woman accused him in a police report of sexual assault at a republican conference in Monterrey, California, in 2017.

This complaint was followed by reports of mismanagement of tax management and unprofessional behavior of the two defense groups he directed, Veterans for Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America.

Hegseth admitted that he was “not a perfect person” to his confirmation audience and committed to Republican senators that he would stop drinking if he was confirmed to act as Secretary of Defense.

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