The Senate voted to confirm Pete Hegseth as secretary of defense on Friday following a tough confirmation battle in which Democrats and the media badgered him with personal attacks.
Hegseth, a former Army National Guard officer and Fox News host, won confirmation with a 51 to 50 vote. Vice President JD Vance cast the tie-breaking vote, making him the second VP to do so after Mike Pence helped secure Betsy Devos’s confirmation as education secretary in 2017.
Hegseth’s ascension comes after a monthlong effort from Democrats to sink the nomination. It also follows a flurry of anonymously sourced media articles that accused him of drinking excessively and running a misogynistic workplace while leading the veterans’ organization Concerned Veterans for America (CVA). Democrats leaned heavily on the reports while questioning Hegseth during his confirmation hearing.
One of the sources behind the claims was former CVA employee Kat…
