Pete Hegseth has vowed to bring his “warrior” ethos to the Pentagon. Democrats had assailed him as unfit for the job, and his confirmation came down to Vice President JD Vance serving as tiebreaker.

Vance had not been on the senate floor during the vote. It wasn't until three GOP senators voted against Hegseth's nomination that he made his way to the Capitol to cast the tie-breaking vote

The Senate’s 50-50 vote for Pete Hegseth marked the second time in history that a vice president was called upon to break the tie to confirm a Cabinet official.