The Senate voted to confirm Pete Hegseth as defense secretary on Friday night, with the former Fox News host squeaking through the upper chamber by the narrowest possible margin.
The Senate deadlocked in a 50-50 vote as three Republicans joined all Senate Democrats in voting against Hegseth's confirmation. Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, had already announced their opposition to the nominee. They were joined by the former leader of Republicans in the Senate, Mitch McConnell.
Ultimately, Vice President JD Vance cast a tie-breaking to push through the nomination of the Trump Cabinet pick whose bid has been beset by allegations of sexual assault and problem drinking.
"I thought I was done voting in the Senate," former Ohio Sen. Vance joked of his tie-breaking ballot in a post to X.
Hegseth's squeaker of a confirmation victory marks only the second time that a vice president has broken a Senate tie on a Cabinet confirmation vote. Both were Trump nominees. Mike Pence cast the deciding vote for former Department of Education head Betsy DeVos in 2017.
Trump celebrated the confirmation of his choice to head up the Pentagon before Vance's deciding vote was cast. If the no vote of his former ally in McConnell fazed him, the president didn't let on.
“Winning is what matters, right?” he said, per CNN.
Hegseth has yet to share a victory announcement on social media. As of this writing, his most recent post is a letter shared at 9:04 p.m. ET that denies allegations of drunkenness, racism, misogyny and domestic abuse.
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