JUST IN: Pete Hegseth Gets Major Confirmation Update: ‘Has The Votes’
Pete Hegseth, who has been nominated to lead the Department of Defense by President-elect Donald Trump, appears to have the votes to be confirmed after a key potential holdout announced that he would be supporting him.
Burgess Everett, the congressional bureau chief for the news outlet Semafor, reported Thursday that Senator John Curtis (R-UT) would be supporting Hegseth’s nomination. Curtis was previously named as a potential holdout when anonymously-sourced, unverified allegations of heavy drinking and sexual assault were levied against the Trump nominee last month.
Despite the fact that Hegseth was cleared of the sexual assault allegation in an investigation that took place at the time — which included surveillance footage and eyewitness testimony that cleared him — multiple Republican senators said they were “concerned” over the reports at the time. Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) stated that the allegations against Hegseth were “serious” and suggested that she could be a potential holdout.
Ernst then faced a relentless pressure campaign from the Trump base, while multiple Iowa Republicans indicated that they would challenge her if she opted not to support Pete Hegseth after his confirmation hearing. After meeting with the Trump nominee on multiple occasions, Ernst indicated on Tuesday that she will be voting to confirm.
Hegseth meets with Senator Ernst in her office last month
A Pete Hegseth confirmation appeared likely after he testified before the Senate Homeland Security Committee earlier this week. Hegseth — a veteran of the War on Terror and a former host at Fox News — was relentlessly attacked by Democrat senators throughout the hearing. The attacks did not appear to land, however, as odds of a confirmation skyrocketed past 90 percent on the popular prediction platform Polymarket in the hours following the hearing.
A few potential hurdles still remained, however, as at least six Republican senators were considering a vote against Hegseth as of last month, according to a report from NBC News. Senator Curtis — who was just elected in November — was listed as one of the potential “no” votes in the report.
Curtis never confirmed nor denied the report, stating only that he will not be making any endorsements until he had met with every candidate and they had gone through confirmation hearings. With his support confirmed as of Thursday evening, Hegseth appears likely to lead the crucial department and institute planned reforms.
Republicans will control 53 seats when the new Congress is sworn in next month, meaning that they could only afford three defections if all Democrats vote against Hegseth’s nomination.
Pete Hegseth was widely seen as the top target of Democrat attacks among all remaining Trump nominees. Former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz was initially nominated for attorney general, though he ultimately withdrew his name from consideration after multiple Senate Republicans refused to support him.
While the remaining nominees are expected to be confirmed, Kash Patel, Trump’s nominee to lead the FBI, could face the most significant pushback. Patel — who has vowed to thoroughly reform the bureau and de-fang much of its power base in Washington D.C. — was referenced repeatedly by Senate Democrats during current attorney general nominee Pam Bondi’s confirmation hearing earlier this week.
“Is that a person who, appropriately, should be the FBI director? Aren’t those comments inappropriate? Shouldn’t you disavow them and and ask him to recant them?” Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) asked during Wednesday’s hearing. “Senator, I am not familiar with all those comments. I have not discussed those comments with Mr. Patel,” Bondi began before she was cut off by Blumenthal.
“Excuse me. What I do know is Mr. Patel was a career prosecutor. He was a career public defender, defending people. And he also has great experience within the intelligence community,” she added.