Senate to vote on whether to confirm Pete Hegseth as defense secretary

WASHINGTON — The Republican-controlled Senate on Friday night is expected to vote on whether to confirm Pete Hegseth, President Donald Trump’s controversial pick for defense secretary.

The vote will likely be extremely tight. On Thursday, Hegseth’s nomination narrowly cleared a key procedural hurdle 51 to 49, with two Republicans — moderate Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine — voting with all Democrats against him.

It would take four Republicans voting against Hegseth to reject the nomination, though Trump allies in the Senate expressed confidence he would be confirmed, and no other Republicans have signaled they will vote against him Friday.

“You take a guy who’s served 20 years and he’s been in combat, he’ll take a warrior’s perspective. You don’t win fights with generals; you win fights with the guys down range, and he’s going to put us back in the fight,” Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., one of Hegseth’s chief defenders on Capitol Hill, told NBC News.

“He’s going to put the Defense Department focused on the fighters again” and shake things up, Mullin added. “That’s what the American people want and that’s what President Trump wants.”

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Trump told reporters Friday that he was “very surprised” that Collins and Murkowski opposed Hegseth, and suggested that Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., could vote against him, even though the former Senate Republican leader voted to advance his nomination.

Trump had said Thursday when asked about Collins’ and Murkowksi’s opposition to Hegseth, “no surpises there.”

Speaking to reporters Friday, Collins said she had informed Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., of her opposition to Hegseth and had not personally heard from Trump. She said she stood by her decision.

“I made the right vote,” Collins said.

That Hegseth may be on the cusp of confirmation is a remarkable turnaround for the former Fox News anchor and Army combat veteran, whose nomination just last month appeared to be on the verge of collapse after multiple news reports detailed allegations of alcohol abuse, a sexual assault and the financial mismanagement of organizations that he led. Hegseth has denied all of these allegations.

NBC News reported in early December that Trump considered ditching Hegseth as his pick to lead the Pentagon and replacing him with his one-time rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. But Trump publicly stood by his defense pick, telling Hegseth to “keep fighting” as he navigated a gauntlet of tough meetings with senators last month. 

At his Jan. 14 confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Democrats zeroed in on his past controversies, as well as his past public comments that he opposed women serving in combat — a position he walked back at the hearing. The Armed Services panel narrowly voted along party lines, 14 to 13, to advance his nomination to the floor.

Still, even as his nomination marched forward, Hegseth, 44, has continued to face intense scrutiny in the days leading up to the final vote.

On Thursday, NBC News obtained answers Hegseth provided to Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., as part of the confirmation process showing that he had paid $50,000 to the woman who accused him of sexual assault in a California hotel room in 2017. (The Associated Press was the first to report the settlement amount.)

Hegseth has said the encounter was consensual, and the district attorney in the case declined to press charges, saying that “no charges were supported by proof beyond a reasonable doubt.”

His lawyer, Timothy Parlatore, has said that Hegseth “strongly felt that he was the victim of blackmail” and that he “ultimately decided to enter into a settlement for a significantly reduced amount” at the “height of the MeToo movement.” 

Earlier this week, NBC News reported that a former sister-in-law of Hegseth’s had said in a sworn affidavit, shared with senators, that he had demonstrated “erratic and aggressive behavior over many years” and had made his ex-wife, Samantha Hegseth, “fear for her safety” while they were married. 

The affidavit was submitted in response to a request for information from Sen. Jack Reed, of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee. The existence of the affidavit was first reported by NBC News.

The ex-sister-in-law, Danielle Hegseth, said she “did not personally witness physical or sexual abuse by Hegseth.” Samantha Hegseth said in a previous tatement that there was no physical abuse during the marriage. A lawyer for his ex-wife did not respond to the previously unreported allegation.

Parlatore wrote in an email: “As NBC is well aware, the actual participant, Samantha has denied these false allegations, yet NBC continues to irresponsibly report false allegations by an uninvolved third party as if they were fact.”

In a floor speech before Friday’s vote, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., argued that Hegseth was unqualified to lead the 2.8-million-person organization and urged Republicans to join Democrats in opposing Hegseth.

“The well-being of our troops stationed around the world is on the line with today’s vote, the very security of the American people, of our kids and families and neighbors and friends is on the line with today’s vote,” Schumer said. “In short, we should not, cannot, must not elevate someone as erratic as Pete Hegseth to secretary of defense, we can and must, must do better.”