Susan Collins has voted ‘no’ on advancing Pete Hegseth’s confirmation as the new Secretary of Defense.
There is a cloture vote happening now for Hegseth, which will tell us how the confirmation vote will likely unfold tomorrow night. Hegseth only needs a simple majority to get past the cloture vote.
Lisa Murkowski indicated she was also a no vote a few minutes ago, claiming Hegseth doesn’t have the character for such a position.
Senator Susan Collins just voted no on invoking cloture on Pete Hegseth’s nomination, which means she voted against ending debate and moving to a vote to confirm him. https://t.co/VxXbvtmTDA
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) January 23, 2025
Just like with Murkowski, this is not even close to a shocker. These are the two RINOS that anyone paying attention would have known to be the problem votes for Hegseth.
We’ll see how the rest of the vote unfolds…
UPDATE: Mitch McConnell voted YES to advance Hegseth’s nomination…
BREAKING: Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) votes YES on advancing Pete Hegseth's confirmation for secretary of defense – POLITICO
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 23, 2025
This doesn’t mean he’ll actually confirm Hegseth, only that he’s no opposed to debating it. But it is a positive sign.
MAJOR UPDATE: Pete Hegseth’s nomination advances by a vote of 51-49 and the official confirmation vote will happen tomorrow:
By a vote of 51-49 The #Senate invoked cloture on Peter Hegseth to be Secretary of Defense.
GOP Senators Collins and Murkowski voted against.
— Senate Press Gallery (@SenatePress) January 23, 2025