(The Center Square) – Pete Hegseth’s confirmation vote from the Senate on Friday night, in a tie broken by Vice President J.D. Vance, was helped by a North Carolina Republican senator and a one-on-one meeting between the two.
Sen. Thom Tillis said he got answers he needed from President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Pentagon, leaving Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska as the lone members of the party breaking ranks to vote with the 45 Democrats and two independents. That Tillis might vote nay was subject of multiple published reports on Friday prior to the vote.
In a statement prior to the vote, Tillis said, “From the beginning, I have been clear about my position: if President Trump’s nominees were reported favorably out of the relevant committees, I would support their confirmation on the Senate floor absent new material information about their qualifications.”
Still, the second-term senior senator of the state, said he did his due diligence once the Armed Services Committee advanced Hegseth. He said his questions were tough and the nominee answered with “candor and openness.”
“Pete has a unique perspective as a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and is unquestionably passionate about modernizing our military and supporting the brave patriots like himself who serve our nation,” Tillis said in his statement. “I will support his confirmation and look forward to working with him to rebuild our military and advance President Trump’s peace through strength agenda.”
All 45 Democrats and the two independents, Sens. Angus King of Maine and Bernie Sanders of Vermont, caucusing with them opposed the nomination.
“We just heard that we have a great secretary of Defense,” Trump said from California just before boarding Air Force One after the vote. “We’re very happy about that, and we appreciate everybody’s vote.”
Hegseth, 44, was sworn in on Saturday by Vance. He’s a graduate of Princeton, was commissioned as an infantry officer in the Army National Guard, and was on active-duty assignments in Guantanamo Bay, Iraq and Afghanistan.
The components of the U.S. Department of Defense are the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, Coast Guard, National Guard and Combatant Commands.
His first message Saturday was to those he leads. He told them, “We will put America first, and we will never back down. The president gave us a clear mission: achieve peace through strength. We will do this in three ways – by restoring the warrior ethos, rebuilding our military and reestablishing deterrence.”
Budd posted a photo with Hegseth on social media after the vote Friday night.
He wrote, “I look forward to working with him to make sure our military men and women have the resources they need to remain the most lethal fighting force in the world.”
