Senators Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins and Mitch McConnell voted against confirming Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary. To Capitol insiders, their decisions weren’t surprising.

Statements from Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine set the stage for a close vote on Friday.

Even as handicappers adjudged Pete Hegseth ’s confirmation as secretary of Defense to be all but certain, not one but two Republican senators indicated a hard pass on the poorly qualified bad boy from Fox News.

Alaska U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski on Thursday announced on social media that she would vote against confirming Pete Hegseth to lead the U.S. Department of Defense. Republicans have a 53-seat majority in the U.

“WTF? Mitch McConnell immediately walked over and CELEBRATED with the Democrats after voting against Hegseth This man HAS TO GO in 2026. The people of Kentucky voted for Trump’s mandate—not this anti-Trump BS,” conservative commentator Nick Sortor said with a video showing the interaction.

The US Senate on Friday approved Pete Hegseth as President Donald Trump’s defense secretary by a razor-thin margin, in which, Vice President JD Vance had to cast the tie-breaking vote.

Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky voted against President Donald Trump's nominee to be secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth.

President Donald Trump said he was “surprised” that Republican Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) voted to oppose Pete Hegseth’s defense secretary nomination.