(L-R) Hosts Brian Kilmeade, Katie Pavlich and Pete Hegseth with Lee Greenwood (C) as he visits “FOX & Friends” at Fox News Channel Studios on May 27, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — The Senate Armed Services Committee has narrowly approved the nomination of Pete Hegseth to be the next secretary of defense, with Republicans using their single-vote majority to push the embattled nominee through to the next stage of the process.
A source familiar with the vote said SASC members reported Hegseth out of committee along party lines in a 14-13 vote this evening. Hegseth’s nomination is set to come to the Senate floor later this week, where it is also expected to pass along party lines.
Hegseth, a Fox News host and National Guard veteran, was tapped by President Donald Trump to lead the Pentagon in November. In the following weeks, allegations of sexual misconduct and whistleblower reports alleging that Hegseth abused alcohol while on the job at Fox News and as the former president of Concerned Veterans for America threatened to topple his nomination. Hegseth has denied all allegations of sexual misconduct and has pledged to stop drinking if named secretary of defense.
RELATED: From firing generals to limiting women in combat, Hegseth hints at possible Pentagon shakeup
During his confirmation hearing last week, Hegseth tried to make the case that he had reformed after making mistakes in his past, and that his combat experience would result in a Defense Department with improved lethality and readiness.
He also tempered previous comments about women in the military by stating he would support women in ground combat roles if they could meet the same physical standards as men, though he noted the administration would conduct a review to ensure those standards had not been eroded.
Republicans largely offered support for his previous military service and “warrior ethos,” but Democrats questioned his character, his ability to lead a massive bureaucracy after previously managing a workforce of only around a hundred people, and whether his softened position on women in combat would hold after his confirmation.
“I do not believe that you are qualified to meet the overwhelming demands of this job,” said Sen. Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the committee and the only Democrat to have been given a meeting with Hegseth prior to the hearing. “We must acknowledge the concerning public reports against you. A variety of sources, including your own writings, implicate you with disregarding laws of war, financial mismanagement, racist and sexist remarks about men and women in uniform, alcohol abuse, sexual assault, sexual harassment, and other troubling issues.”
After the hearing, Hegseth finally secured the support of Sen. Joni Ernst, a sexual assault survivor and combat veteran who previously indicated she was unsure whether she help underwrite Hegseth’s nomination.
“As I serve on the Armed Services Committee, I will work with Pete to create the most lethal fighting force and hold him to his commitments of auditing the Pentagon, ensuring opportunity for women in combat while maintaining high standards, and selecting a senior official to address and prevent sexual assault in the ranks,” Ernst said in a statement last week.
Also this evening, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted to approve former Sen. Marco Rubio’s nomination to lead the State Department.
“We are glad to have worked in a bipartisan way to ensure that one of our own, Senator Marco Rubio, could be positioned to quickly take the helm of the State Department,” said its chairman Jim Risch, R-Idaho, and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the committee’s ranking Democrat, in a statement. “We believe that Senator Rubio has the skills, knowledge and experience to lead the department, and his unanimous vote in committee reflects that. We hope to see his nomination pass the full Senate without delay.”
