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.

The North Carolina Republican said he did his “due diligence” and deferred to the Senate Armed Services Committee endorsement.

The Senate narrowly voted to confirm embattled Pete Hegseth as secretary of the Department of Defense, in a major win for President Donald Trump and his new administration.