Senate Majority John Thune (R-S.D.) has set up a vote to confirm former Fox News host and Army veteran Pete Hegseth to become the next secretary of defense under President Donald Trump.
The Hill reported Tuesday that Senate Republicans are pressing forward with Hegseth’s nomination despite an affidavit obtained by Senate Democrats from his former sister-in-law that mysteriously showed up this week after Hegseth was successfully voted out of the Armed Services Committee.
The document accuses him of struggling with alcohol abu s e and being abu s ive toward his ex-wife, Samantha Hegseth, though his ex-, in a brief statement released on Tuesday, has denied that Hegseth was ever vi ol e nt towards her.
On Tuesday, Thune filed a motion to end debate on Hegseth’s nomination, which was advanced by the Senate Armed Services Committee in a party-line 14-13 vote just hours after Trump was sworn into office.
This sets the stage for a Senate vote to advance Hegseth’s nomination on Thursday, with a final confirmation vote expected on Friday or possibly early Saturday morning.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) informed reporters that Republicans are prepared to continue working through the weekend to confirm him. “The next would be on cloture, and that would be Thursday afternoon,” Wicker told reporters Tuesday.
Wicker dismissed the affidavit claiming that Samantha Hegseth once hid in her closet out of fe ar for her safety from the nominee.
“I have not reviewed the document. My reaction is that I have grave doubts as to the substance,” he said, pointing to Samatha’s own statement that there was no “phy s ical abu s e” during her marriage. “I think the nomination is going to go forward and the next vote is going to be Thursday,” he said.
Wicker added that Democrats could delay a final vote on Hegseth until “late on Friday night.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a retired Air Force lawyer and a key Republican voice on national security matters, dismissed the latest allegation.
“I heard what his wife said. It didn’t happen. I’m getting tired of this stuff being dropped at the last moment,” Graham said.
“You got the person who denies being physically abused. That’s it for me,” he said. Asked about the sworn claims from Hegseth’s former sister-in-law that the nominee frequently drank to excess, Graham dismissed the question: “Nah, I’m good,” adding that he’ll vote to confirm Hegseth.
Meanwhile, Democrats continued to pretend like the last-minute allegation was valid despite Samantha Hegseth’s denial.
“These firsthand observations are highly significant and credible and hopefully will persuade my Republican colleagues that Hegseth is unfit to be secretary of Defense,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), a member of the Senate Armed Services panel.
“There was no question that Pete Hegseth is unqualified and unprepared to be secretary of Defense. The affidavit adds additional weight to a case that is already overwhelming against him,” he added.
Senators plan to move on Hegseth after voting earlier on Thursday to confirm former Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas), as CIA director. The Hill noted. Ratcliffe, a former federal prosecutor, served a stint as director of national intelligence during Trump’s first term.
Republicans tried to confirm Ratcliffe to his post on Tuesday evening but met resistance from Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.).
“I just think we should have a full debate on Ratcliffe. A lot of us have real reservations about somebody with a history of politicizing intelligence like they demanded a full debate on most all of Biden’s Cabinet and sub-Cabinet nominees,” Murphy told The Hill.
“I think it’s pretty rich that Republicans blocked hundreds of Biden’s national security nominees and are now complaining when we’re simply asking for two days of debate on one of the most important members of Trump’s national security team,” he claimed.
