Fox News host becomes US Secretary of Defense

The US Senate, with the deciding vote of the Vice President, confirmed the qualification of Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump's nominee for the position of Secretary of Defense.

The Senate confirmed Hegseth's qualification yesterday, despite widespread opposition from Democrats and some Republicans to the position after Trump introduced him to the Senate.

According to the report, in the Senate session, Hegseth received 50 votes in favor and 50 votes against, but Vice President J.D. Vance participated in the vote as the President of the Senate and confirmed Hegseth's qualification, and thus Hegseth was confirmed as Secretary of Defense with 51 votes in favor.

As Secretary of Defense, he will lead the 1.3 million members of the Pentagon and will have control of the Pentagon's annual budget of $1 trillion.

Hegseth, a former Fox News anchor, has promised to make big changes at the Pentagon. He was one of the most challenging candidates Trump has nominated for a top military position.

Hegseth 's difficulty in winning a majority of US senators was because he faces sexual assault allegations. Hegseth has also been opposed to women in combat roles for years.

After Hegseth was named Trump's pick for Defense Secretary, the U.S. Department of Justice released a comprehensive report showing that a woman had filed a complaint in 2017 against him alleging that he had sexually assaulted her.

Hegseth 's lawyer previously said he paid the woman in 2023 to stop a baseless lawsuit.

Hegseth was the second Trump secretary of state to require the vice president's approval. Before him, the education secretary in Trump's first cabinet was confirmed by the vice president in 2017.