Pete Hegseth moves a step closer to being Trump's Defense secretary, despite allegations

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Maine Senator Susan Collins and Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, both Republicans, joined all Senate Democrats in opposition to Hegseth, but they were still lacking one vote to block Trump's nomination.

Arising from the military and allegations of very serious wrongdoing.

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He threatened his ex-wife, forcing her to hide in a closet, made disparaging comments about women, Muslims, and Mexican-Americans, and drank excessively, resulting in frequent blackouts and vomiting.

On one occasion, Hegseth was forcibly removed from a strip club in Minneapolis, where he was in uniform and in the act of receiving a lap dance.

Hegseth's lawyer, Timothy Parlatore, flatly denied the accusations as false, pointing out that Hegseth's former wife has stated in court documents that there was no physical abuse in their marriage.

on Thursday.

Sens. Roger Wicker and Jack Reed, the committee's Republican chairman and top Democratic member, were kept informed about the statement two days after Hegseth's confirmation hearing before the committee, according to the report.

The FBI report stated "true and accurate," noting that "never before in his Senate tenure had the FBI needed to provide multiple briefings on a Defense Secretary nominee."

The claims that are unfairly reflecting negatively on his character do not withstand scrutiny.

Following recent reports, Senate Democrats called for Hegseth to meet individually with each committee member before a final vote. They said, "It would be irresponsible and contrary to our constitutional obligation for the Senate to vote to confirm this nomination" without doing so, in a statement on Wednesday.

While deciding to vote against Hegseth for Secretary of Defense on Thursday, Murkowski provided her reasons in a post on X, saying, "After careful consideration, I must conclude that I cannot vote in good conscience to confirm his nomination.

"While the accusations of sexual assault and excessive drinking do nothing to alleviate my concerns, the past mistakes acknowledged by Mr. Hegseth, including his multiple instances of infidelity, show a pattern of poor judgment that is not suited for someone in a leadership role over our military forces," Murkowski wrote.

Murkowski said Hegseth's lack of experience and past opposition to women in the military also led to her vote against him. After her vote, Murkowski told reporters outside the Senate that she felt "absolutely at peace" with her decision.

Mark Levin called Hegseth a "change agent poised to shake up the military for the better."

in government.

Hegseth described himself as a change agent who would revamp a military hindered by "woke" policies and red tape. He acknowledged that he had supervised, at most, a few hundred employees, a far cry from the 3 million troops and civilians and $850-billion budget overseen by the Pentagon.

Hegseth later paid the accuser to remain quiet about the claim, stating that, although it was untrue, it would harm his position as a Fox News host.

Rep. Adam Kinzinger's mother appeared on Fox News to take back her comments after Trump endorsed Jones.

Republicans on the committee, many of whom have echoed his criticisms of the Pentagon's leadership, agreed with Hegseth that the allegations were "anonymous smears" and that Hegseth had undergone significant change since his past infidelities and issues with heavy drinking.

Senator Wicker stated that Hegseth's prior inexperience would actually be beneficial, not a disadvantage, for the position. "I believe he has a lot of knowledge – and to be honest, we need to make some changes at the Pentagon."

But committee members from the Democratic Party were not satisfied, arguing that Hegseth lacked the qualifications required to lead the military.

"He spent a considerable amount of time during the hearing saying that he doesn't want to lower the bar for others in their own job duties, regardless of whether it's women or minorities. However, the entire hearing was centered around asking us to lower the standards so he can perform the job," Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-IL, said to USA TODAY.

Opposition to women in military combat roles. Hegseth stated in a podcast interview just a week before Trump named him for the job, "I'm straight up just saying we shouldn't have women in combat roles," only to retract the statement in the days leading up to the confirmation hearing.

She would confirm his nomination, effectively putting an end to speculation that she might be one of a small group of Republican holdouts.

Following a delay in the confirmation process, President Trump temporarily assigned the duties of the Secretary of Defense to Robert Salesses, a former United States Marine Corps officer, until a new Secretary is appointed.

The current report was worked on by Savannah Kuchar and Sudiksha Kochi.

Pete Hegseth takes a step closer to becoming Trump's Secretary of Defense, despite allegations.