Pete Hegseth has vowed to bring his “warrior” ethos to the Pentagon. Democrats had assailed him as unfit for the job, and his confirmation came down to Vice President JD Vance serving as tiebreaker.

The Senate on Friday night voted to confirm Pete Hegseth as defense secretary after Vice President JD Vance stepped in to cast the tiebreaking vote. Hegseth’s nomination had been hampered by allegations of misconduct.

This post has been updated with statements from Sen. Roger Wicker and Sen. Jack Reed. The Senate on Friday confirmed Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News host and member of the National Guard, to serve as the next Secretary of Defense in a 51 to 50 decision late Friday with Vice President J.

Vice President JD Vance on Saturday swore Pete Hegseth, a former Army National Guard officer, into office as the 29th secretary of defense, DOD News reported Monday. Hegseth received Senate confirmation on Friday evening. During his Jan. 14 confirmation hearing, Hegseth cited the need to reinstate the warrior culture within the Pentagon.

Three Republicans voted with every Democrat against Trump’s controversial pick to lead the Pentagon, forcing Vance to step in and put Hegseth over the top.

Michigan's U.S. senators voted in committee against Trump's picks to lead the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth, and White House budget office, Russell Vought.

Vice President Vance on Friday broke a Senate tie to confirm Pete Hegseth as President Trump’s secretary of Defense, capping a bruising two-month fight over the nominee, who faced a litany

A Princeton and Harvard-educated former combat veteran, Hegseth went on to make a career at Fox News, where he hosted a weekend show. Trump tapped him as the defense secretary to lead an organization with nearly 2.1 million service members, about 780,000 civilians and a budget of $850 billion.

Pete Hegseth was sworn in to lead the Department of Defense on Saturday, after a narrow vote in the Senate. The vote on Friday night was initially 50-50, with Vice President JD Vance then casting the tie-breaking vote.

President Donald Trump is picking from his most loyal supporters as he creates his Cabinet and appoints others to key roles within his administration.

That’s called “jointness,” about which Hegseth knows little. He touted his Army background in the National Guard as a qualification to be secretary of Defense, but just as different cultures, goals and methods divide allies in a coalition, they also divide military branches.

President Donald Trump suggested at a Friday briefing on North Carolina’s hurricane recovery that he would sign an “executive order to begin the process of fundamentally reforming and overhauling FEMA,