The Senate will vote on Friday evening on the appointment of Pete Hegseth, the controversial choice of Donald Trump for the American Secretary of Defense, but growing concerns concerning the personal and inexperience of Hegseth have raised doubts about his chances as confirmation.
Hegseth, a former Fox News host and army veteran, erased a key procedural obstacle on Thursday after 51 Republican senators voted to advance his appointment to a final vote. But two Senate Republicans, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski from Alaska, joined their democratic colleagues to vote against the advancement of the appointment of Hegseth because of their skepticism about its qualifications.
“After an in -depth evaluation, I must conclude that I cannot support his appointment to the Secretary of Defense in all conscience,” Murkowski said in a statement. “I recommend the Pete Hegseth service to our nation, including the head troops and plead for our veterans. However, these achievements will not lead my important concerns concerning its appointment. »»
Hegseth cannot afford to lose the votes of three Republicans of the Senate, assuming that each Democratic senator opposes his appointment, it therefore seems that he is always on the right track for confirmation. Two republican senators who had been considered potential without votes, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, both supported the advancement of the appointment of Hegseth on Thursday.
In a soil speech on Friday, the head of the majority of the Senate, the Republican John Thune, praised HegSeth’s qualifications and predicted that he would direct the Pentagon in a new avant-garde direction.
“A veteran of the Army National Guard who served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, Mr. Hegseth will bring a warrior’s point of view to the role of defense secretary and will provide a fresh air essential to the Pentagon” , said Thune.
And yet, Hegseth continues to be hampered by questions about allegations of sexual assault, excessive alcohol consumption and the financial mismanagement of two non -profit organizations he has led. On Thursday, the news announced that Hegseth paid $ 50,000 in a woman who accused her of sexual assault in 2017.
A series of podcast recordings unearthed by the Guardian also revealed that Hegseth seems to approve the theocratic and authoritarian doctrine of the “sovereignty of the sphere”, which is derived from extremist beliefs of Christian reconstructionism. In the recordings, Hegseth attacked “cultural Marxism”, feminism, the “theory of critical race” and democracy, which he said that “our founders manifestly rejected as being completely dangerous”.
The head of the Senate minority, the Democrat Chuck Schumer, delivered a sharp speech highlighting the many accusations against Hegseth and imploring the Republicans to reject “one of the most erratic, without qualification and unsuitable cabinet that we We have never seen in modern times ”.
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“This man, with history of excessive consumption of alcohol, is really the guy you want at the other end of the phone at 2 am in crisis, in nuclear codes control?” Schumer asked. “In short, we must not, must not, must not raise someone as erratic as Pete Hegseth to the Secretary of Defense. We can and must – do – do better. I urge my colleagues to vote no. »»
Despite these severe criticisms, Hegseth is still favored to be confirmed. The last vote of the Senate on his appointment should take place around 9 p.m. Friday evening.
