Senator Markwayne Mullin, a Republican from Oklahoma, speaks during a Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The Senate voted 51-49 to advance Hegseth's nomination on Thursday, which triggered up to 30 hours of debate before a final vote. President Donald Trump's embattled defense nominee has faced intense grilling from Democrats on his qualifications for the position, as well as personal questions about his drinking habits and alleged sexual misconduct, which he has vigorously denied. Hegseth has said he would abstain from alcohol if confirmed.
Hegseth's nomination faced another hurdle this week when reports emerged that his ex-sister-in-law alleged that Hegseth had abused his second wife.
Two sources told CNN Hegseth’s ex-wife, Samantha Hegseth, gave a statement to the FBI about Hegseth’s alleged alcohol use. The outlet said one of the sources said Samantha Hegseth told the FBI, "He drinks more often than he doesn’t."
On Tuesday, Fox News obtained an affidavit from Hegseth's former sister-in-law, Danielle Hegseth, which alleges he has an alcohol abuse problem and at times made his ex-wife, Samantha, fear for her safety. Danielle Hegseth was previously married to Pete Hegseth's brother and has no relation to Samantha.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., called out Democratic senators' hypocrisy during the Senate confirmation hearing for U.S. Defense Secretary candidate Pete Hegseth (Screenshot/Fox News Channel)
"People's lives depend on it — civilians and, of course, the men and women in the armed services — and Pete Hegseth has shown himself not only incapable of running a large organization, he often shows himself incapable of showing up or showing up in a way where he could get anything done. He is so out of the mainstream and so unqualified for DOD that I am hopeful we will get our Republican colleagues to join us."
Mullin predicted that once Hegseth is confirmed, Democrats will turn their attention to another of Trump's nominees, Tulsi Gabbard, who is the president's choice to be director of national intelligence.
"I think they're going to turn their attention from Pete straight to Tulsi Gabbad," Mullin said, noting that Gabbard's confirmation hearing is scheduled for next week. "They went from Matt Gaetz to Pete Hegseth. Now they're going to go to Tulsi, and then after that I'm sure they'll probably move on to [health secretary nominee] Bobby Kennedy."
The Oklahoma Republican also suggested that Democratic senators who may harbor presidential ambitions stand to gain from making a show of opposition to Trump's nominees.
"You have all these Democrat senators now that are jumping up and down wanting attention so they can be the champion of the Democrat Party. What they don't realize is the position they took underneath Biden and when Trump was in office is exactly why they got kicked out of office."
Fox News Digital's Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.
Chris Pandolfo is a breaking news reporter for Fox News Digital. Send tips to chris.pandolfo@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @ChrisCPandolfo.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/oklahoma-sen-mullin-confident-hegseth-confirmed-predicts-who-democrats-try-sink-next