What happened
Most of President Donald Trump’s successful Cabinet nominees so far — including, as of Monday evening, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent — were confirmed by comfortable margins. But Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth squeaked by 51 to 50, with Vice President J.D. Vance casting the second-ever tie-breaking vote for a Cabinet secretary.
Sen. Thom Tillis cast the deciding vote Friday night after telling Hegseth’s former sister-in-law he would oppose the nomination, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
Who said what
Tillis (R-N.C.) “personally assured Danielle Hegseth” that if she signed a sworn statement “testifying that she believed her former brother-in-law” has “an alcohol abuse problem and was abusive to his second wife, it would carry weight, and potentially move three votes” — his and those of Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), the Journal said, citing two other witnesses to the reported conversation.
Danielle Hegseth relayed her allegations in a sworn affidavit, saying she was doing so only because she had been “assured” the public statement would “ensure that certain senators who are still on the fence will vote against Hegseth’s confirmation.” Murkowski, Collins and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) voted no. Tillis told the Journal her testimony “did carry weight,” but after “days doing my due diligence” and speaking with Pete Hegseth, he was “not able to speak with anyone who provided firsthand corroboration.”
What next?
Hegseth had his first full day at the Pentagon Monday, previewing a series of executive orders Trump issued Monday night, including the precursors to a ban on transgender troops and a space-based missile defense system.
North Carolina senator Thom Tillis provided the deciding vote to confirm Pete Hegseth as defense secretary
