Senate Advances Hegseth Nomination to Floor

Donald Trump’s Secretary of Defense nominee, former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, has cleared one more hurdle in the confirmation process.

Hegseth made it out of committee, and his nomination was just passed in a floor vote to proceed to his final confirmation vote.

However, the vote only passed 51-49 after new allegations surfaced against Hegseth from his former sister-in-law.

Close Call

Hegseth’s former sister-in-law stated that she had witnessed him abusing his second wife, but the second wife has pushed back against the allegations.

Regardless, this was a pause for concern from Senators Collins (R-MA) and Murkowski (R-AK), who joined all Democrat Senators in voting against the procedural move.

Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) stated, “We cannot risk installing a leader who may have a history that is exploitable by our adversaries.

“Nor can we risk confirming a secretary of defense who has shown that he is incapable of being responsible, accountable, and law-abiding 24 hours a day, seven days a week, as that job requires.”

Collins and Murkowski are definitely voting “no” when the final vote is floored, so Hegseth has no wiggle room right now. If he loses another vote, his nomination will fail.

In explaining her vote, Murkowski stated, “While the allegations of sexual assault and excessive drinking do nothing to quiet my concerns, the past behaviors Mr. Hegseth has admitted to, including infidelity on multiple occasions, demonstrate a lack of judgment that is unbecoming of someone who would lead our armed forces.”

I have stated many times about my concerns with Hegseth, most notably the former Fox News workers who stated he would regularly be hung over at work, as well as his alleged mismanagement of funds at his charities.

Before I put someone in charge of nearly three million troops and a $1 trillion budget, I want to know they can do the job, and I have yet to be convinced that Hegseth can do this job.

When Trump was told that Collins and Murkowski voted no, he responded, “I was very surprised that Collins and Murkowski would do that.”

As I am writing this report, the Senate is about to convene to take the final vote on Hegseth’s nomination, so this will all be settled soon enough.