Live updates: Vance breaks tie to confirm Hegseth as Trump’s Defense secretary

Live updates: Vance breaks tie to confirm Hegseth as Trump’s Defense secretary

Vice President Vance on Friday broke a Senate tie to confirm Pete Hegseth as President Trump’s secretary of Defense.

Republican Sens. Mitch McConnell (Ky.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Susan Collins (Maine) voted against Trump’s pick. All Democrats opposed Hegseth’s nomination.

This is the second time in history a vice president has had to cast a tie breaking vote to confirm a Cabinet nomination.

Earlier Friday evening, Trump enjoyed a friendly greeting with California Gov. Gavin Newsom as he landed Friday evening in California to view the devastation from the greater Los Angeles wildfires.

The two political rivals shook hands and Newsom thanked Trump for the visit, as the two put aside any differences for the time being.

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Trump visited California after a separate trip to North Carolina earlier Friday to view the damage from Hurricane Helene.

The trip caps a whirlwind week for Trump, who has already taken impactful steps to reshape the government, including ending diversity programs, mobilizing the military to tackle illegal immigration and declaring the U.S. would leave international alliances.

Follow along for updates below.

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