US Vice President JD Vance cast a tie-breaking vote in the Senate to confirm former Fox News host Peter Hegseth as the US secretary of defense late Friday night, despite allegations of alcohol abuse, sexual misconduct and other fears about his ability to lead the world’s most powerful military.
Three Republican senators voted against President Donald Trump’s pick as secretary of defense, resulting in a 50-50 tie that required Vance to cast the deciding ballot – only the second time in history a vice president has had to intervene to save a cabinet nominee.
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His victory is the slimmest margin ever in a confirmation hearing for the head of the Department of Defense, a position created in 1947.
The razor-edged result underscored concerns about Hegseth, who will take over the Pentagon with war raging in Ukraine, the Middle East volatile despite ceasefires in Lebanon and Gaza, and as Trump expands the military’s role in security on the US-Mexico border.
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The 44-year-old is a former Army National Guard officer who until recently worked as a co-host for Fox News – one of Trump’s favored television channels. As the leading defense bureaucrat in the US, Hegseth will oversee 1.3 million active-duty American troops along with the Pentagon’s $850 billion budget.
His resume is so thin and his list of alleged personal issues so long that he makes an unusual pick to lead the world’s biggest nuclear-armed military with about 2.9 million employees and almost $1 trillion in funds.
Hegseth has never led a large organization. He served as a major in the National Guard but is better known for his work until recently as a host on Trump-friendly Fox News.
Allegations ignored
After his nomination, a slew of damaging allegations emerged about past drinking excesses and accusations of abusive behavior toward his second wife and one case of sexual assault.
His former sister-in-law Danielle Hegseth said in an affidavit received by lawmakers that she was subjected to emotional abuse by him, and was told by his second wife that she once hid from him in a closet because she “feared for her personal safety.”
According to the affidavit, Hegseth also told his ex-sister-in-law that women should not work or have the right to vote, and said that “Christians needed to have more children so they can overtake the Muslim population.” He denies any wrongdoing and Trump has stood by him, telling reporters Friday: “Pete’s a very, very good man.”
Hegseth has a combative media personality, fierce loyalty and telegenic looks – common hallmarks in Trump’s entourage. Supporters say his deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq give him the insight to run the Pentagon better than the top brass typically considered for the job.
In his Senate hearings and media appearances, Hegseth has aggressively driven home the need to make the US military less “woke” and more “lethal.” He has also focused on ending what he says has been lowering of standards to help women enter the military.
He calls the allegations of improper personal behavior against him “smears” but has said he will stop drinking alcohol if confirmed to head the Pentagon.
Approach to Ukraine war
Hegseth said Russia‘s 2022 invasion of Ukraine appeared to be “Putin’s give-me-my-sh*t-back war” during an episode of the “Shawn Ryan Show“ podcast last week, according to Reuters. It was recorded before Trump’s victory was announced Tuesday night.
He lamented how much aid the US has sent to Kyiv over the last three years, per Business Insider. “If Ukraine can defend themselves... great, but I don’t want American intervention driving deep into Europe and making (Putin) feel like he’s so much on his heels,” he said, adding that the US had “burned two decades of money” in Afghanistan and Iraq, and that it was “tempted to do it again” in Ukraine.
He has defended many of Trump’s statements on Ukraine, including the former president’s 2022 comments calling Putin’s recognition of the independence of the Ukrainian breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk “genius” and “wonderful.”
But Hegseth also deemed Putin a “war criminal” and criticized the Biden administration for not equipping Ukraine fast enough during a Fox News interview in March 2022. He acknowledged that Putin sees any cease-fire as “an opportunity to reload.”
“What’s at stake is repelling an authoritarian who basically is saying ‘I want the Soviet Union back, I want Ukraine back, I want Kyiv back,’” he said.
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