WASHINGTON -- The Senate advanced the nomination of Pete Hegseth as President Donald Trump's defense secretary Thursday on a largely party-line vote, despite objections from Democrats and stirring unease among Republicans over his behavior and qualifications to lead the U.S. military.
Two Republicans, Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, broke ranks with Trump and his allies who have mounted an extensive public campaign to push Hegseth toward confirmation. The former combat veteran and Fox News host faces accusations of excessive drinking and aggressive actions toward women, which he has denied. The vote was 51-49, with a final vote on confirmation expected Friday.
Both of Arkansas' Republican senators, Tom Cotton and John Boozman, voted in favor of Hegseth's confirmation.
Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer, N.Y., implored his colleagues to think seriously, "Is this the best man we have to lead the greatest military in the world?"
Murkowksi, in a lengthy statement, said that his behaviors "starkly contrast" with what is expected of the military.
"I remain concerned about the message that confirming Mr. Hegseth sends to women currently serving and those aspiring to join," Murkowski wrote on social media.
Both Murkowski and Collins noted Hegseth's past statements that women should not fill military combat roles. He sought to temper those statements during the confirmation process.
Collins said that after a lengthy discussion with Hegseth, "I am not convinced that his position on women serving in combat roles has changed."
Collins said that while she appreciates Hegseth's "courageous military service and his ongoing commitment to our service members and their families, I am concerned that he does not have the experience and perspective necessary to succeed in the job."
Rarely has a Cabinet choice encountered such swirling accusations of wrongdoing. The outcome provides a measure of Trump's power and a test for the Senate as it considers the president's other outsider Cabinet picks, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Health and Human Services, Kash Patel at the FBI and Tulsi Gabbard for director of the Office of National Intelligence.
Republican senators, and some Democrats, appear ready to give the president his team. Only Matt Gaetz, the former congressman who was Trump's initial choice for attorney general, was met with enough resistance that his nomination was withdrawn.
The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee has dismissed the claims against Hegseth as factually inaccurate.
It will take a simple majority of senators to confirm Hegseth's nomination. Most Republicans, who hold a 53-seat majority in the chamber, have signaled they will back the nominee, though Vice President JD Vance could be called in to break a tie vote.
"I am ironclad in my assessment that the nominee, Mr. Hegseth, is prepared to be the next secretary of defense," the chairman, Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said in a statement on the eve of voting. "The Senate needs to confirm this nominee as fast as possible."
A new president's national security nominees are often the first to be lined up for confirmation, to ensure U.S. safety at home and abroad. Already, the Senate has overwhelmingly confirmed Marco Rubio as secretary of state in a unanimous vote.
$50,000 paid to accuser
Hegseth admitted to having paid $50,000 to the woman who accused him of sexual assault in 2017, according to answers he provided to a senator during his confirmation process that The Associated Press has obtained.
The answers were provided to Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren in response to additional questions she had for Hegseth as part of the vetting process.
His attorney, Timothy Parlatore, declined to comment Thursday on the dollar figure, which was previously unknown. In November, Parlatore confirmed that the settlement payment had been made, and Hegseth told senators during his confirmation hearing last week that he was "falsely accused" and completely cleared.
The $50,000 payment was made years after the woman told police that Hegseth sexually assaulted her in a California hotel room in 2017 after he took her phone, blocked the door and refused to let her leave, according to an investigative report released in November.
Hegseth told police at the time that the encounter had been consensual and denied any wrongdoing.
The report does not say that police found the accusations were false. Police recommended the case report be forwarded to the Monterey County District Attorney's Office for review.
Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine M. Pacioni said her office declined to file charges in January 2018 because it didn't have "proof beyond a reasonable doubt."
Parlatore, Hegseth's lawyer, has said the payment was made as part of a confidential settlement a few years after the police investigation because Hegseth was concerned that she was prepared to sue and that could have gotten him fired from Fox News, where he was a popular host.
VA panel OKs Collins
The U.S. Senate's Veterans Affairs Committee voted overwhelmingly, 18-1, to make Doug Collins the next secretary of Veterans Affairs. The vote moves the former Georgia congressman toward a confirmation vote on the Senate floor, which could occur in a matter of days.
Both the Republican chair of the Veterans Affairs Committee and its top-ranking Democrat spoke in favor of Collins ahead of Thursday's vote. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said he was impressed by Collins' answers during a hearing when Collins pledged to work in a bipartisan fashion to improve Department of Veterans Affairs facilities and expand mental health programs.
Arkansas' Boozman is a member of the Veterans Affairs Committee.
Veterans in Georgia have complained of long wait times and inadequate services in facilities across the state, and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has reported on the long processing time for critical health records. The department has pledged to spend billions of dollars to renovate or replace aging buildings.
"Hopefully, he will be the kind of advocate that we really are going to need in this era when the challenges will be greater than ever before fiscally, and the pressure to scale back, to cut costs, to pursue harmful policies that may negatively affect our veterans will also be greater," Blumenthal said.
Chairman Jerry Moran, R-Kan., echoed concerns raised by Blumenthal about the hiring freeze across the federal government implemented by President Donald Trump and the effect it could have on the VA. Staffing shortages over the years have affected the level of care provided to patients.
Moran said those concerns make it all the more crucial that the Senate move quickly to have Collins installed.
"It would be useful to have Secretary Collins confirmed and in a position to advocate for his department and for the veterans that department serves," Moran said. "He testified that no one on the veteran side is going to miss their health care provider because of any new hiring freeze."
Information for this article was contributed by Lisa Mascaro, Mary Clare Jalonick, Tara Copp and Eric Tucker of The Associated Press and by Tia Mitchell of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (TNS).