US Senate confirms ex-Fox News anchor Pete Hegseth as Trump’s Defense Secretary in tie-break vote

The US Senate on Friday (local time) confirmed Pete Hegseth as Defense Secretary in a razor-thin vote Thursday, with Vice President JD Vance breaking a 50-50 tie.

Hegseth, a former Fox News host and National Guard veteran, was nominated by President Donald Trump in November to lead the Department of Defense. His confirmation process was contentious, with Hegseth facing scrutiny over allegations of sexual assault and financial mismanagement at two veterans organisations.

Hegseth, 44, has fiercely denied the accusations and told the Senate Armed Services Committee earlier this month that he has grown from past mistakes.

“I am not a perfect person, but redemption is real,” he said during his confirmation hearing, where he also pledged to restore the Pentagon’s “warfighting ethos.”

Despite initial scepticism, Hegseth’s assurances and his military background helped secure the backing of most Senate Republicans, leading to his confirmation.

A Princeton and Harvard graduate, Hegseth represents a newer generation of veterans who came of age following the 9/11 attacks. His post-military career as a TV anchor on Fox News made him a well-known conservative voice. But he had little to no political experience until Trump tapped him for the post of Pentagon chief.

During his confirmation hearing, Hegseth faced questioning about a 2017 incident in which a woman alleged he sexually assaulted her at a Republican conference in California. Hegseth refuted the allegations, stating the encounter was consensual, although he later paid the woman $50,000 as part of a non-disclosure agreement.

Hegseth labelled allegations of financial mismanagement and drinking on the job during his tenure at the Concerned Veterans of America, a veterans’ charity, as part of a “coordinated smear campaign” orchestrated by left-wing partisans. He also promised to abstain from alcohol if confirmed.

Earlier this week, Hegseth’s former sister-in-law alleged in an affidavit that he was abusive to his second wife and was “unfit” to run the Defense Department. He vehemently denied the physical abuse allegations.

The Senate Armed Services Committee advanced Hegseth’s nomination on a party-line vote earlier in the week, paving the way for Thursday’s procedural vote and Friday’s final passage.

Hegseth’s confirmation was yet another indication of Trump’s political sway and the GOP-led Congress’s willingness to support his nominees despite controversy.

The Senate will next consider other contentious Cabinet picks, including Kash Patel for FBI director, Tulsi Gabbard for director of the office of national intelligence, and Robert F Kennedy Jr for Health and Human Services.

With AP inputs