Politics
NEW: Pete Hegseth Gets Massive Confirmation Update
After nearly two months of a grueling public battle to become the next U.S. defense secretary, Pete Hegseth has finally received positive news about his fortunes in the U.S. Senate, which is expected to take up a vote on his confirmation as soon as next week.
Hegseth, a veteran and former Fox News anchor, has been at the center of a firestorm sparked by anonymous, unproven allegations that he was regularly intoxicated on the job and sexually harassed female coworkers while poorly managing two charity organizations for veterans. He was the second Trump nominee to be called into question following the withdrawal of Matt Gaetz from the U.S. Attorney General post. Hegseth chose to fight the charges, appearing on major conservative news programs to deny the allegations and counter them with affirmations from former service members and even his own mother. The strategy began to deliver results in January when holdout senators like Joni Ernst (R-IA) and John Fetterman (D-PA) began to speak positively about Hegseth. Now, it may have secured a majority for him.
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On Sunday, CBS News reported that incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) told President-elect Donald Trump he believes Hegseth will have the 51 or more votes necessary to be confirmed in the upper chamber, a remarkable turnaround for the nominee from weeks earlier. A spokesman for the Republican senator did not confirm the news, telling the outlet instead, “Two things we don’t discuss publicly: Whip counts and private conversations with the president.” If true, Thune’s declaration would be more decisive than the tepid words for Hegseth he expressed on Sunday during an appearance on “Face the Nation.”
“I think these are nominees who are new enough, they’ve been going around and conducting their meetings, which I think, frankly, have gone very well, but they still have to make their case in front of the committee. And, you know, we don’t know all the information about some of these nominees,” he told host Margaret Brennan.
Senate Armed Services Chairman Roger Wicker told CBS that Hegseth’s confirmation hearing is expected to occur on January 14th, giving him just over a week to get his affairs in order. Senate Republicans want most or all of Trump’s national security nominees to be approved and ready to fill their roles in advance of his January 20th swearing-in, a process which will include Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s nominee for Director of National Intelligence, John Ratcliffe, his pick to lead the CIA, and Kash Patel to head up the FBI. A spokesman for Senate Democrats said negotiations about hearing dates are underway but that Republicans would need to secure unanimous agreement among Democratic senators.
Other nominees seeking approval before Trump takes office are Doug Burgum for Interior Secretary, Kristi Noem for the Department of Homeland Security, and Lee Zeldin for the Environmental Protection Agency.
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