Hegseth Confirmed as US Defense Secretary

Updated 1/24/25 at 10:47p.m. EST

Pete Hegseth has been confirmed as U.S. Defense Secretary, following a Senate confirmation vote on Friday night. The Senate vote split 50-50, with Vice President J.D. Vance voting “yes” to break the tie.

The Details: As defense secretary, Hegseth “is the principal assistant to the President in all matters relating to the Department of Defense…he has authority, direction, and control.” Hegseth has pledged to remove “political correctness” from the military as defense secretary, and emphasized his support for equality, as opposed to equity. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), having voted on Thursday to advance Hegseth's confirmation vote, joined Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Susan Collins (R-ME) in voting against the confirmation itself on Friday. The two Independents in the Senate also voted no, as did all 45 Democrats. 

For Context: Hegseth was met with a wide range of questions during his confirmation hearing earlier this month, pertaining to alleged sexual assault and excessive drinking, his position on abortion access in the military, and his position on women in combat roles. He referred to accusations against him from Senate Democrats as a “coordinated smear campaign.”

How the Media Covered It: Outlets on the left often framed the story around the alleged misconduct of Hegseth and highlighted the accusations, while outlets on the right focused more on the confirmation process.