The Senate Armed Services Committee voted along party lines on Jan. 20 to advance President Donald Trump’s defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth to a full Senate floor vote.
The committee voted 14–13 to advance Hegseth’s nomination.
The vote came less than a week after Hegseth, 44, a former Fox News host and Army National Guard veteran, sat for a contentious confirmation hearing. During the hearing, Democrats on the committee pressed Hegseth over his views on women serving in combat roles.
Democrats on the committee also questioned him over allegations that he struggles with alcohol abuse, mismanaged funds at a veterans organization, and committed a sexual assault in 2017. He has denied all the allegations.
“Just cast my vote to send Pete Hegseth’s nomination to the floor of the Senate,” Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), a U.S. Navy SEAL veteran, said in an X post following the Jan. 20 vote.
“The Senate should move quickly to confirm Pete so we can begin the important work of supporting the warfighter and rebuilding our military. It’s time to get to work!”
Trump has designated Robert Salesses, deputy director of the Pentagon’s Washington Headquarters Service, as acting defense secretary while Hegseth’s nomination remains before the Senate.
