Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump's choice to be Defense Secretary

WASHINGTON — The Senate advanced the nomination of Pete Hegseth as President Donald Trump's defense secretary Thursday on a largely party-line vote, despite grave 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 allegations 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.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer 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. She also noted his past statements that women should not fill military combat roles. Hegseth sought to temper those statements during the confirmation process.

"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.

Murkowski said behavior that Hegseth has acknowledged, "including infidelity on multiple occasions," shows a lack of judgment. "These behaviors starkly contrast the values and discipline expected of service members," she said.

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."

She also said that after a lengthy discussion with Hegseth, "I am not convinced that his position on women serving in combat roles has changed."

Rarely has a Cabinet choice encountered such swirling allegations of wrongdoing. Trump is standing by Hegseth, and the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee has dismissed the claims 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, and confirmed John Ratcliffe as CIA director Thursday.

But Hegseth stands in a category of his own amid allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman at a Republican conference in California, which he has denied as a consensual encounter, and of heavy drinking at events when he led a veterans organization.

A new claim emerged this week in an affidavit from a former sister-in-law who claimed Hegseth was abusive to his second wife to the point that she feared for her safety. Hegseth has denied the allegation. In divorce proceedings, neither Hegseth nor the woman claimed to be a victim of domestic abuse.

Schumer said Thursday that Hegseth is unqualified for the job.

"One of the kindest words that might be used to describe Mr. Hegseth is erratic, and that's a term you don't want at DOD," Schumer said. "He has a clear problem of judgment."

A Princeton and Harvard-educated former combat veteran, Hegseth went on to make a career at Fox News, where he hosted a weekend show. Trump tapped him as the defense secretary to lead an organization with nearly 2.1 million service members, about 780,000 civilians and a budget of $850 billion.

During a fiery confirmation hearing, Hegseth swatted away allegations of wrongdoing one by one — dismissing them as "smears" — as he displayed his military credentials and vowed to bring "warrior culture" to the top Pentagon post.

Hegseth has promised not to drink on the job if confirmed.

Wicker said he had been briefed a third time on the FBI background investigation into Hegseth. He said "the allegations unfairly impugning his character do not pass scrutiny."

But senators have remained doubtful of his experience and abilities and the alleged behavior that could lead to reprimand or firing for military personnel he would now be expected to lead.

Still, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, herself a combat veteran and sexual assault survivor, has signaled her backing.

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A couple in elegant attire enters the stage from a door on the right while a military band plays on stage on the left.
Service members from across the armed forces, including Reserve and National Guard components, provided ceremonial and defense support for the events of the 60th Presidential Inauguration in Washington, Jan. 18-20, 2025.
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Space where a portrait of retired Gen. Mark Milley hung

Pentagon officials are not offering any explanation as to why they removed the portrait of Gen. Mark Milley, the former Joint Chiefs chairman, on Monday shortly after President Donald Trump was inaugurated.

The portrait of Milley hung in an ornate hallway that is dedicated to the history of the Joint Chiefs and displays 19 other paintings of all other prior chairmen going back to Gen. Omar Bradley. Milley's portrait, the latest addition in the historic line, was unveiled Jan. 10[1].

By 2 p.m. Monday, the day of Trump's inauguration, reporters inside the Pentagon noticed that the portrait had been removed from the wall[2]. On Tuesday, reporters observed workers patching the holes[3] and repainting the wall[4] where the portrait had hung.

Read Next: He Met Trump After Being Booted from the Space Force. Then, He Was Tapped to Help Lead the Air Force.[5]

A spokesman for the current chairman, Gen. Charles "CQ" Brown, directed Military.com's questions on the removal to the office of the secretary of defense and the White House.

The secretary's office simply said "no comment," while the White House did not respond to the query in time for publication.

While an official explanation for the removal of the portrait that had hung in the Pentagon for less than two weeks was not offered by defense officials, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., told a group of reporters Tuesday that Trump ordered that the painting be removed.

"I guess he's OK with rewriting history," Kaine said in a video posted by reporter Joe Khalil to social media[6].

Milley served as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs -- a position that is largely responsible for being the president's top military adviser -- between 2019 and 2023 and advised Trump for the last two years of his first term in office. Before that, Milley had been the highest-ranking officer in the U.S. Army[7].

While Milley's tenure was rocky and he was condemned by both Republicans and Democrats at various times, the biggest rift between the Army general and Trump came after the violence at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

In the days after the insurrection, Milley made two calls to a Chinese general, Li Zuocheng. "My task at that time was to deescalate," Milley told senators that year, and explained that he was hoping to calm fears in the Chinese top brass that the U.S. might attack China amid the chaos and turmoil of a transition that was being rocked by violence.

Milley was "certain" that the former president "did not intend on attacking the Chinese, and it is my directed responsibility to convey presidential orders and intent," he said.

Amid his reelection campaign in 2023, Trump claimed Milley would have faced death "in times gone by"[8] for the call and that his retirement was a "time for all citizens of the USA to celebrate!"

Katie Miller, the wife of Stephen Miller, one of the key architects of Trump's immigration policies during his first term, claimed that Milley "was a traitor to President Trump who lied to see his name in print and be elevated as a hero to the liberal media" in a social media post the day the portrait was unveiled[9].

The massive military headquarters that sits on the bank of the Potomac River not only displays portraits of the military and civilian heads of the services but also the former secretaries of defense and war.

Milley's portrait was part of that tradition, and it was made possible because of a donation to the Army by the "Association of the United States Army" -- a nonprofit organization that acts as an outside advocacy organization for the service.

"For at least the last 30 years, we have paid for the portraits of the outgoing chiefs of staff of the Army and secretaries of the Army -- and outgoing chairman when he is an Army general officer -- through a gift proffer," Tom McCuin, a spokesman for the group, told Military.com in an email Tuesday.

"We donate the money to the Army, which the Army then uses to pay the artist," he added, before noting that the finished portraits are property of the Department of the Army or, in the case of the chairman, the Department of Defense.

Milley's portrait from his time as the Army chief of staff was still hanging among his fellow Army chiefs at the time of publication.

In both his Army and chairman portraits, Milley is depicted in a service uniform and included somewhere in the works is a Constitution of the United States, a Princeton University seal, and a photo of his family.

In his chairman's portrait, Milley also had the artist include a battle map of Ukraine lying on a table, among other details.

Pentagon officials wouldn't say where the portrait was taken.

Related: Gen. Mark Milley Says He Has Taken 'Measures' to Protect Family After Trump Suggests He Should be Executed[10]

© Copyright 2025 Military.com. All rights reserved. This article may not be republished, rebroadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without written permission. To reprint or license this article or any content from Military.com, please submit your request here[11].

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