Senators Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins and Mitch McConnell voted against confirming Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary. To Capitol insiders, their decisions weren’t surprising.

Maine, breaks with party to vote against Pete Hegseth, Trump's nominee for Defense Secretary. Can he still get confirmed?

Even as handicappers adjudged Pete Hegseth ’s confirmation as secretary of Defense to be all but certain, not one but two Republican senators indicated a hard pass on the poorly qualified bad boy from Fox News.

Two Republican Senators, including Maine’s Susan Collins, voted against the confirmation of Pete Hegseth as President Donald Trump’s defense secretary.

Republican Sen. Susan Collins voted Thursday against advancing President Donald Trump's choice for defense secretary, who has faced allegations of heavy drinking, financial mismanagement and abusive behavior toward women.

Pete Hegseth was sworn in to lead the Department of Defense on Saturday, after a narrow vote in the Senate. The vote on Friday night was initially 50-50, with Vice President JD Vance then casting the tie-breaking vote.

The US Senate on Friday approved Pete Hegseth as President Donald Trump’s defense secretary by a razor-thin margin, in which, Vice President JD Vance had to cast the tie-breaking vote.

He has denied the accusations, dismissing them as part of a smear campaign in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee. On Tuesday, an ex-sister-in-law of Mr. Hegseth submitted a sworn statement to senators accusing him of being “abusive” toward his second wife.