Diyar Guldogan
24 January 2025•Update: 24 January 2025
WASHINGTON
US President Donald Trump on Friday said he is "very surprised" after two Republican senators voted on Thursday against his defense secretary pick Pete Hegseth.
On Thursday, Senate advanced Hegseth's nomination by a slim margin -- 51-49 -- with Senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins opposing him, citing his past infidelity and allegations of sexual assault and excessive drinking.
"I was very surprised that Collins and Murkowski would do that," Trump told reporters as he departs for his North Carolina trip.
"Look, whatever it is. He’s a good man. I don’t know what’s going to happen — you never know in those things. But, Pete’s a very, very good man. I hope he makes it; I hope he makes it," Trump said.
The Senate is now continuing debate on the nomination of Hegset.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer on Friday urged his colleagues to vote "no".
"Yesterday, 51 Republican senators voted to advance one of the most erratic, unqualified and unfit Cabinet nominees we have ever seen in modern times," Schumer said on the Senate floor.
Schumer said he hopes that his Republican colleagues think "carefully one last time about the risks to the American people, and particularly to the men and women in our armed forces of confirming somebody like Mr. Hegseth."
In addition to his controversial remarks about women in the military, Hegseth faced allegations of sexual assault stemming from a 2017 incident in California. Police investigated the claim but did not file charges.
Hegseth, 44, seen as one of Trump’s more controversial Cabinet nominees, also faces allegations of excessive drinking and financial mismanagement.
The Associated Press on Thursday reported that Hegseth paid $50,000 to a woman who accused him of sexual assault in 2017.
