The usual trio of RINOs is likely to oppose Pete Hegseth’s confirmation as Secretary of Defense after an 11th-hour affidavit surfaced, filled with false accusations of spousal abuse intended to derail his nomination.
Republican Senators Mitch McConnell (KY), Lisa Murkowski (AK) and Susan Collins (ME) may oppose Pete Hegseth for Defense Secretary, forcing Vice President JD Vance to break the tie, according to Fox News reporter Chad Pergram.
According to Fox News Congress reporter Chad Pergram:
Fox has learned that unless there is a time agreement to accelerate debate on nominees, it is possible that the confirmation vote on Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth could come late Friday night or in the wee hours of Saturday morning.
The key is when the Senate confirms CIA Director nominee John Ratcliffe, who is ahead of Hegseth in the queue.
Fox is told to expect the vote to break the filibuster on Ratcliffe on late Thursday morning or midday tomorrow.
The Senate is then afforded two hours of debate on that nomination. That means there’s a 3-4 pm et vote on Thursday to confirm Ratcliffe.
Once Ratcliffe is confirmed, the Senate would then vote to break the filibuster on Hegseth on Thursday afternoon. If the Senate breaks the filibuster, that would then trigger up to 30 hours of debate. If all time is used, final confirmation on Hegseth could come late Friday night or early Saturday morning.
Regardless, this is where things get interesting:
Fox is told it’s possible there could be a tie vote on confirmation for Hegseth. It’s about the math. Republicans have 53 members. Fox is told to keep an eye on Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). If they vote nay, Vice President Vance would need to come to the Capitol to break the tie and confirm Hegseth as Defense Secretary.
No Vice President had ever broken a tie to confirm a cabinet Secretary until former Vice President Pence did so to confirm Betsy DeVos as Education Secretary on February 7, 2017. Pence also broke ties to confirm former Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) as ambassador for religious freedom in 2018. He also broke a tie to confirm current Budget Director nominee Russ Vought as Deputy Budget Director in 2018.
Once the Senate dispenses with the Hegseth nomination, it’s on to a procedural vote for DHS Secretary nominee Kristi Noem. The Senate would need to break a filibuster on Noem’s nomination. If that comes late Friday, early Saturday, the Senate could vote to confirm Noem midday Sunday if they burn all time. If the vote to break the filibuster on Noem comes at a “normal” hour Saturday (say 10 or 11 am et), the Senate doesn’t vote to confirm Noem until Sunday night.
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