Friday’s confirmation of Hegseth, a 44-year-old former Fox News personality and decorated veteran, is seen as a victory for President Donald Trump amid opposition from all Democrats, an independent and three Republican members of the Senate.
A tie-break was necessary for the confirmation of a cabinet nominee for the second time in history. The first was also a Trump nominee, Betsy DeVos, who became education secretary in 2017.
Hegseth, who is promising to bring major changes to the Pentagon, takes over as defence chief amid the war in Ukraine, ceasefires in Lebanon and Gaza, as well as the push of the Trump administration to expand the military’s role on the US-Mexico border.
He is thought to be the most antagonistic candidate to win the top position in the US military.
The three Republican senators who voted against Hegseth were Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins and Mitch McConnell, the party’s leader in the chamber until this month.
Hegseth, according to McConnell, failed to demonstrate his leadership of a large and complex organization like the military.
“Mere desire to be a ‘ change agent ‘ is not enough to fill these shoes”, McConnell said in a statement.
Hegseth will lead the US military, which has a budget of almost $1 trillion annually, along with 1.3 million active-duty service members and almost one million civilians.
Hegseth told lawmakers that his largest group had 100 members and had the largest budget, which he had managed up until this point.
His nomination also received a number of controversies, including one made by his ex-sister-in-law, who claimed he had abused his second wife to the point where she hid in a closet and had a code word to use with friends if she needed to be saved.
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