Pete Hegseth, the nominee for Secretary of Defense in the second term of the U.S. Donald Trump administration, officially assumes office after passing the federal Senate confirmation process on the 24th (local time).
On the same day, the Senate held a vote on Hegseth's confirmation at a plenary session held late in the afternoon at the U.S. Capitol in Washington DC, resulting in a tie with 50 votes for and 50 against.
Then, Vice President JD Vance, who also serves as the President of the Senate, exercised his 'tie breaker' vote in favor, passing Hegseth's confirmation in the Senate.
Accordingly, following Secretary of State Marco Rubio and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, all three key figures in the Trump administration's foreign and security line, which launched on the 20th, have passed Senate confirmation.
Hegseth, a former Fox News host, faced allegations of sexual misconduct, alcohol issues, and financial management problems related to veterans, which once put him at risk of being dropped, but he overcame the crisis.
Born in Minnesota, nominee Hegseth earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from Princeton University and Harvard Kennedy School of Government. After graduating from college, he began his career as an analyst at Bear Stearns, a Wall Street investment bank, and was commissioned in the National Guard, serving at the U.S. military's terrorist detainee camp in Guantanamo, Cuba, as well as in the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan.
At the Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing held on the 14th, Hegseth stirred controversy by referring to North Korea as a "nuclear power" in his pre-submitted answers.
When concerns about Hegseth being 'unfit for the position of Secretary' were raised even within the Republican Party, President Trump, who actively defended him, posted on the social media platform Truth Social on the day, saying, "Congratulations to Pete Hegseth," and "He will be a great Secretary of Defense."
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