Donald Trump's pick for Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, is facing stiff criticism from Democrats—but most Republicans back him.
The full Senate voted 51-49 on Thursday to advance Hegseth's nomination, paving the way for a final confirmation vote Friday.
Senators on both sides of the aisle raised new questions on Wednesday about the vetting process for Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth, pointing to allegations that were not disclosed by the Trump transition team as part of Hegseth’s FBI background check that was transmitted to two key lawmakers ahead of his confirmation hearing.
A Princeton and Harvard-educated former combat veteran, Hegseth went on to make a career at Fox News, where he hosted a weekend show. Trump tapped him as the defense secretary to lead an organization with nearly 2.1 million service members, about 780,000 civilians and a budget of $850 billion.
The Armed Services Committee is expected to hold Hegseth's confirmation hearing on Tuesday, ahead of President-elect Trump's inauguration.
Democrats have expressed concern over the delay and how thorough the report on Trump’s embattled defense secretary pick will be.
Pete Hegseth, President Donald Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, paid $50,000 to the woman who accused him of sexual assault in 2017.
The report doesn't offer material from Hegseth's ex-wives or a woman who accused him of sexual assault in 2017. Hegseth has said that encounter was consensual, and prosecutors never filed charges.
The Senate on Thursday voted to advance Pete Hegseth's nomination to be President Donald Trump's defense secretary, putting him on a path to final confirmation at the end of the week.
Pete and Samantha Hegseth’s 2018 divorce decree prohibits each of them from engaging in “any public discourse ... disparaging the other party.”
The Senate advanced the nomination of Pete Hegseth as President Donald Trump’s defense secretary Thursday on a largely party-line vote, despite grave objections from Democrats and stirring unease among Republicans over his behavior and qualifications to lead the U.