Alabama Republicans applaud confirmation of Pete Hegseth

January 24, 2025 - Washington, D.C. – Republicans in the U.S. Senate worked late into the night to get around Democrats procedural delay tactics in order to confirm Pete Hegseth as the Secretary of Defense.

Three Republican Senators broke ranks with President Donald J. Trump (R) to vote with Democrats in opposition to Hegseth. These were Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Susan Collins (Maine) and Mitch McConnell (Kentucky). The tie forced newly sworn in Vice President John David "J.D." Vance to step in and break the 50-50 tie. That Murkowski and Collins were voting no had been already made public; but that McConnell's betrayal was a surprise to almost everyone. Ultimately, team Trump prevailed and Hegseth in now the Secretary of Defense.

Both Sens. Katie Britt (R-Alabama) and Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) voted in favor of Hegseth.

"Voting to confirm Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense reaffirms my steadfast commitment to advancing President Trump's doctrine of peace through strength," said Sen. Britt in a statement. "Secretary Hegseth will put our warfighters in the best position and return the Pentagon's focus to our force's lethality, providing a credible deterrent against our adversaries."

"After meeting with him during the confirmation process, I know Secretary Hegseth appreciates the importance of Alabama to our national defense," said Britt. "Whether it is Fort Novosel, Redstone Arsenal, Anniston Army Depot, Maxwell Air Force Base, or Sumpter Smith Joint National Guard Base, I look forward to working with Secretary Hegseth to maximize the roles our great state's installations, capabilities, and synergies play in supporting our men and women in uniform and protecting our nation long into the future."

Tuberville has been a strong backer of Hegseth.

"Our Pentagon needs someone with dust on his boots at the helm; someone who knows how to win because he's seen active combat. "That man is @PeteHegseth. And I PROUDLY will vote to confirm him as our next SecDef," said Sen. Tuberville on his X social media account.

U.S. Representative Mike Rogers (R-AL03), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, released a statement applauding the Senate confirmation of Hegseth.

"Congratulations to Pete Hegseth on his Senate confirmation to be the next Secretary of Defense. I look forward to working closely with him to strengthen our military and restore American deterrence."

Congressman Barry Moore (R-AL01) said on X, "Congratulations to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who will remove the cancer of wokeness from our military!"

Alabama Gazette political columnist former state Representative Perry O. Hooper Jr. (R-Montgomery) was enthusiastic about Hegseth's confirmation.

"America won with Pete's confirmation," Hooper said. "He is a strong man of God, Family, Country and our Troops. Pete will be a great Secretary of Defense."

Hegseth faces a lot of challenges, including modernizing the military to prepare for an increasingly sophisticated battlefield with drones killing tanks, surface ships, and even aircraft; hypersonics, artificial intelligence, and anti-satellite weapon systems. During the Biden administration the military attempted to root out so-called "Christian nationalists" and tried to indoctrinate the armed forces in liberal ideologies including: gender fluidity, critical race theory, and female empowerment. The result was a force that too often failed to meet its recruiting and retention goals while lowering the standards (both physically and scholastically) to get in. Moving the military's focus off of DEI goals and back onto being the most lethal force possible will be a challenge that Hegseth will have to face. Another issue has been the inability of America's ship builders and aerospace companies to manufacture the ships, planes, missiles, and other equipment that the Pentagon needs on time, on budget, and without having to rely on China and other foreign nations where supply could become difficult in a time of war for parts.

The Senate has now confirmed Hegseth as Secretary of State, John Ratcliffe as CIA Director, and Marco Rubio as Secretary of State. Next on the Senate GOP's list is confirming Kristi Noem as Secretary of Homeland Security. Noem, the Governor of South Dakota, has bipartisan support so this could occur as early as Saturday.

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