He Senate The American confirmed on Friday by a narrow margin and thanks to the tie-breaking vote of Vice President JD Vance the appointment of Pete Hegseth as Donald Trump’s Secretary of Defense, despite the opposition of the entire Democratic caucus and three Republican senators.
The appointment of this 44-year-old former military officer and Fox News host to the head of the Pentagon had been highly questioned, due in particular to an accusation of sexual assault in 2017, his lack of experience and suspicions about his excessive alcohol consumption.
“Warrior culture”
Pete Hegseth He is known as a presenter on Fox News, the channel preferred by conservatives in the United States.
At 44 years old, he must assume the leadership of a department with a colossal budget of 850,000 million dollars annually and that employs some three million soldiers, reservists and civilians.
His primary mission, he said in mid-January during his confirmation hearing before the Senate committee, will be “return warrior culture” to the Pentagon.
Pete Hegseth has repeatedly said that he wants to reform the Pentagon from top to bottom, because according to him he adheres to an ideology that is too left-wing for his taste, which the right describes with the term woke.
The announcement of the appointment of Pete Hegseth in November it sparked protests among the opposition.
On the Armed Services Committee, Democratic senators peppered him with questions about a sexual assault allegation dating back to 2017 in California.
The former military man denies having had non-consensual relations. Years later he reached a financial agreement of $50,000 with the woman who accused him, to avoid prosecution.
