In a dramatic late-night vote, the United States Senate approved Pete Hegseth as the new Defence Secretary. Given claims of frequent drinking and aggressive attitude towards women, questions about his qualifications are being raised across the country. Vice President JD Vance’s vote proved important, as he cast a tie-breaking vote, which is unusual in the Senate for Cabinet nominees, who generally have widespread support. Hegseth was present at the Capitol along with his family.
Pete Hegseth : Veteran of the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The ruling Republican Party has 53 senators out of 100. Vice President Vance cast a rare vote to approve Hegseth’s candidacy when the vote was deadlocked 50-50.
In November, President Donald Trump selected Hegseth, a former Fox News personality and combat veteran of the Afghan and Iraq wars, to oversee the Department of Defence. While his confirmation process was marred by claims of sexual assault and financial mismanagement, he has categorically refuted the allegations, telling the Senate Armed Services Committee that he has learnt from his past mistakes.
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Pete Hegseth will oversee an organisation with 2.1 million military members.
The new secretary of defence would oversee an agency with roughly 2.1 million service members, 780,000 civilians, and a USD 850 billion budget.
According to an investigative report released in November, Hegseth has been accused of sexual assault against women, with the most serious accusation coming from a woman who told police that Hegseth sexually assaulted her in a California hotel room in 2017 after he took her phone, blocked the door, and refused to let her leave.
Furthermore, he reportedly paid USD 50,000 to the woman, according to answers he supplied to a senator during his confirmation process, which The Associated Press got. On Thursday, Hegseth’s attorney, Timothy Parlatore, declined to comment on the dollar figure.
It was previously reported that Lisa Murkowski, the Alaska Republican, will vote against Pete Hegseth, becoming the first Republican to oppose one of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees.
Hegseth is likely to be busy in his first days as Pentagon chief enforcing some of Trump’s earliest executive orders, as the President indicated in his inaugural address that his first executive orders would involve the military, including a possible additional deployment to the US-Mexico border to “finish” construction of the wall.
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