Image: @petehegseth/Instagram
The three usual RINO suspects will likely oppose Pete Hegseth’s Secretary of Defense confirmation after an 11th hour affidavit with false allegations of spousal abuse against Hegseth was released.
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.
Fox is told 3 GOP senators (MCCONNELL, COLLINS, MURKOWSKI) could oppose Pete HEGSETH for Defense Sec, forcing VP VANCE to break the tie in a late Friday night vote.
-Per @ChadPergram
— Aishah Hasnie (@aishahhasnie) January 22, 2025
Here are the details via 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.
As TGP reported on Tuesday, Senators received an 11th hour affidavit with spousal abuse allegations against Pete Hegseth ahead of his confirmation vote.
On Monday, the Senate Armed Services Committee voted to advance Pete Hegseth’s nomination to a full senate floor vote.
However, an affidavit from Hegseth’s former sister-in-law, Danielle Hegseth, alleging “instances of abuse” and “mistreatment of a former spouse” involving Hegseth’s second wife, Samantha Hegseth, was submitted to senators.
It is important to note that according to the Pennsylvania Capital-Star, Danielle Hegseth is a lifelong Democrat who is being represented by a powerful Democrat-linked law firm.
Samantha Hegseth responded to the allegations via email, according to NBC News: “First and foremost, I have not and will not comment on my marriage to Pete Hegseth. I do not have representatives speaking on my behalf, nor have I ever asked anyone to share or speak about the details of my marriage on my behalf, whether it be a reporter, a committee member, a transition team member, etc.”
Samantha Hegseth added, “I do not believe your information to be accurate, and I have cc’d my lawyer.”
“There was no physical abuse in my marriage. This is the only further statement I will make to you, I have let you know that I am not speaking and will not speak on my marriage to Pete. Please respect this decision.”
Tim Parlatore, an attorney for Pete Hegseth, blasted Danielle Hegseth for her false allegations.
“Sam has never alleged that there was any abuse, she signed court documents acknowledging that there was no abuse and recently reaffirmed the same during her FBI interview. Belated claims by Danielle Dietrich, an anti-Trump far left Democrat who is divorced from Mr. Hegseth’s brother and never got along with the Hegseth family, do nothing to change that,” Tim Parlatore said in a statement to NBC News.
“After an acrimonious divorce, Ms. Dietrich has had an axe to grind against the entire Hegseth family,” Parlatore added. “Ms. Dietrich admits that she saw nothing but is now falsely accusing Sam of lying to both the Court and to the FBI because of private, undocumented statements that she allegedly made 10 years ago.”
The post BREAKING: These Three Toxic RINO Senators May Oppose Hegseth Confirmation After 11th Hour Hit Piece Affidavit with New Allegations Drops appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.