Maine Sen. Angus King voted against confirming President Donald Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, saying Pete Hegseth failed to sufficiently answer critical questions posed by himself and other senators.
King is an independent but he joined the 12 Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee in voting against Hegseth. All 14 Republican committee members endorsed the veteran and former Fox News host.
In a statement, King didn’t address some of the more salacious arguments against the nominee, including allegations of sexual assault and heavy drinking. Instead, he accused Hegseth’s team of slow-walking the committee review.
King said Hegseth failed to endorse the Geneva Convention and international laws of warfare that ban torture. He also said Hegseth “evaded” opportunities to clearly express his support for Ukraine in its war against Russia — an issue that King said Chinese and North Korean leaders are watching closely in order to gauge U.S. support for its allies.
“Nor did he explain how his spotty professional career in nonprofit management or broadcasting prepares him to run one of the largest and most complicated organizations in the world,” King said.
So while King said he doesn’t need to support Cabinet nominees on policy, he added that he needs to “assess their command of — and commitment to — the facts” and that he could not support Hegseth.
The nomination now goes to the Republican-controlled Senate in what could be the first vote on a string of controversial Trump nominees. Hegseth can only afford to lose three GOP votes if Democrats unite against him. That means attention will now likely shift to Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins — who has not taken a position on Hegseth — and other potential swing senators.
This article appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.
