The Senate narrowly passed a cloture vote on Jan. 23, clearing President Donald Trump’s defense secretary nominee, Pete Hegseth, to proceed to a final confirmation vote.
Senators voted 51–49 to invoke cloture, ending debate on Hegseth’s nomination and allowing the body to move ahead to a final vote.
The nomination has faced opposition from senators questioning his views on women serving in combat roles.
Hegseth has offered mixed comments about women serving in combat roles. He has said he’s concerned about standards being lowered to accommodate more women in those roles, while in a November 2024 interview on the “Shawn Ryan Show,” he said, “I’m straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles.”…