Tillis’ vote sets up late-night tie-breaker to confirm Hegseth

Late Friday evening, North Carolina’s Sen. Thom Tillis was the key vote leading to confirmation of Pete Hegseth, 44, as the new US Secretary of Defense. Tillis’ “aye” tied the vote, giving newly inaugurated Vice President JD Vance the chance to cast an 11th-hour tie-breaking vote in favor of confirming Hegseth.

Three Republican senators — Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky — all voted “no” on Hegseth, making it 49-50 and setting up Tillis’ vote to tie or tank his confirmation. Tillis said he met with Hegseth for two hours before ultimately deciding to back him.

On X, Hegseth shared a detailed letter that he sent to Tillis denying allegations leveled by his ex-sister-in-law. The former wife of his brother alleged that Hegseth abused both alcohol and his ex-wife. His ex-wife denied the claims as well, but the allegations sharply divided the Senate with critics arguing that the former Fox News host and combat veteran was unqualified to lead the US Department of Defense.

Hegseth told senators that he wanted to restore a “warrior culture” and meritocracy to the armed forces. He has also been critical of DEI policies in the military and said during his confirmation hearings that any service member in combat should have to meet the same readiness standards, regardless of gender,

pic.twitter.com/k4t74Gzwva

— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) January 25, 2025

“Pete has a unique perspective as a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and is unquestionably passionate about modernizing our military and supporting the brave patriots like himself who serve our nation,” Tillis said in a statement following the vote. “I will support his confirmation and look forward to working with him to rebuild our military and advance President Trump’s peace through strength agenda.”

From the beginning, I have been clear about my position: if President Trump’s nominees were reported favorably out of the relevant committees, I would support their confirmation on the Senate floor absent new material information about their qualifications. Once Pete Hegseth’s…

— Senator Thom Tillis (@SenThomTillis) January 25, 2025

This the second time in history that a vice president has cast a tie-breaking vote for a cabinet confirmation. The last time was in 2017, when Vice President Mike Pence cast a vote to confirm Betsy DeVos for education secretary in the first Trump administration.

Thank you for your confidence Mr. President.

Thank you for the tie-breaker Mr. Vice President.

Thank you Senators for 50 votes.

This is for the troops. For the warriors. For our country.

America First. Every day. We will never back down. 🇺🇸

— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) January 25, 2025

Hegseth was scheduled to be sworn in Saturday morning by Vance.

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