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Hegseth confirmed Secretary of Defense on Vance tiebreaker

24 January 2025 · written 8 June 2026

On 24 January 2025 the Senate confirmed Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense by a vote of 51-50 (Roll Call Vote 15, 119th Congress, 1st Session), with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote.12 Three Republican senators — Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky — joined the 47-member Democratic caucus (45 Democrats plus the two Democratic-caucusing independents, Senators Angus King of Maine and Bernie Sanders of Vermont) in voting no.34 The Senate Armed Services Committee held its confirmation hearing on 14 January 2025 and reported the nomination favourably on 20 January on a 14-13 party-line vote.56 Vice President Vance administered the oath of office to Hegseth at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on 25 January 2025.7 The confirmation is the second time in U.S. history that a Vice President has broken a Senate tie on a Cabinet nominee; the first was Mike Pence on Betsy DeVos in 2017.8

The Hegseth nomination drew sustained scrutiny over (a) a 2017 sexual-assault allegation, which Monterey, California police investigated and local prosecutors declined to charge; (b) a sworn affidavit from Hegseth’s former sister-in-law alleging alcohol abuse and that his second wife had feared for her safety; and (c) findings of financial mismanagement during his tenure leading two veterans’ non-profits.29 Hegseth denied each allegation under questioning at the 14 January Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.9

  1. The Vice President’s tie-breaking role in Senate votes flows from Article I, Section 3, Clause 4 of the Constitution.10 The 21 November 2013 Senate precedent (“Reid rule”) lowered the cloture threshold for most executive-branch and lower-court nominations to a simple majority; the final confirmation threshold has always been a simple majority.11

  2. The Secretary of Defense exercises “authority, direction, and control over the Department of Defense” under 10 U.S.C. § 113(b); confirmation activates that role.12 The operational chain of command runs President → Secretary of Defense → Combatant Commanders under 10 U.S.C. § 162(b); the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs serves as principal military adviser to the President and Secretary, but is not in the operational chain.13

  3. The Senate-confirmed Secretary replaces acting authority that had been exercised since 20 January 2025 under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act.14 Pending budget submissions, force-posture decisions, and officer- promotion approvals under 10 U.S.C. § 624 transfer to the confirmed Secretary at swearing-in.15

Footnotes

  1. U.S. Senate, Roll Call Vote 15, 119th Congress, 1st Session, on the Hegseth confirmation, 24 January 2025. https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1191/vote_119_1_00015.htm ↩

  2. CBS News, “Senate confirms Pete Hegseth as Trump’s defense secretary in 51-50 vote.” https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pete-hegseth-confirmation-vote-senate-defense-secretary/ ↩ ↩2

  3. The Washington Post, “Pete Hegseth confirmed as defense secretary after Vance breaks tie.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/01/24/hegseth-senate-confirmation-vote/ ↩

  4. Congressional Research Service, “Membership of the 119th Congress: A Profile,” R48535. https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R48535 ↩

  5. U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services, confirmation hearing on the expected nomination of Mr. Peter B. Hegseth to be Secretary of Defense, 14 January 2025. https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/hearings/to-conduct-a-confirmation-hearing-on-the-expected-nomination-of-mr-peter-b-hegseth-to-be-secretary-of-defense ↩

  6. Roll Call, “Armed Services panel moves Hegseth nomination forward,” 20 January 2025. https://rollcall.com/2025/01/21/armed-services-panel-moves-hegseth-nomination-forward/ ↩

  7. Military.com, “Hegseth Is Quickly Sworn in as Defense Secretary After Dramatic Senate Vote,” 25 January 2025. https://www.military.com/daily-news/2025/01/25/hegseth-quickly-sworn-defense-secretary-after-dramatic-senate-vote.html ↩

  8. U.S. Senate, “Votes to Break Ties in the Senate.” https://www.senate.gov/legislative/TieVotes.htm ↩

  9. The 19th News, “Hegseth grilled on misconduct allegations and women in combat in contentious confirmation hearing,” January 2025. https://19thnews.org/2025/01/inside-pete-hegseth-defense-pick-contentious-confirmation-hearing/ ↩ ↩2

  10. U.S. Const. art. I, § 3, cl. 4. https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artI-S3-C4-1/ALDE_00000027/ ↩

  11. Congressional Research Service, “Majority Cloture for Nominations: Implications and the ‘Nuclear’ Proceedings,” R43331. https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R43331 ↩

  12. 10 U.S.C. § 113(b). https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title10-section113&edition=prelim ↩

  13. 10 U.S.C. § 162(b) (combatant command chain of command). https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title10-section162&edition=prelim ↩

  14. Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998, 5 U.S.C. §§ 3345–3349d. https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title5-section3345&edition=prelim ↩

  15. 10 U.S.C. § 624 (Promotions: how made). https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title10-section624&edition=prelim ↩

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