U.S. Sen. Susan Collins voted against advancing Pete Hegseth’s nomination on Thursday, although her fellow Republicans still have the numbers to confirm President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Pentagon amid him facing allegations of sexual assault and excessive drinking.
Collins, the lone Republican in Maine’s congressional delegation, was closely watched ahead of Thursday’s procedural moves, given Hegseth can only lose three votes from GOP senators who hold a 53-47 advantage in the chamber. U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, became the first Republican ahead of Thursday’s vote to oppose Hegseth.
The Maine senator did not immediately release a statement on her vote. She joined her party colleagues on Tuesday in voting to advance Hegseth’s nomination to the floor before voting against his nomination in Thursday’s test vote. It sets up a final confirmation vote expected Friday evening, with Vice President JD Vance available to break any tie.
Trump has put forward several controversial nominees besides Hegseth, such as anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Health and Human Services Department, Kash Patel to lead the FBI and former Hawaii congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard to serve as director of national intelligence.
Trump’s allies and Elon Musk have threatened to fund primaries against Republicans who stand in the way of Trump’s nominees and agenda. Collins, who is up for reelection next year, has not faced a primary since she first won election to the Senate in 1996.
Collins met with Hegseth in December and said she asked him about the allegations he faced. Hegseth, who has questioned the role of women in combat, paid a confidential sum to a woman in a settlement after she accused him of sexual assault in 2017, a claim Hegseth denied.
On Tuesday, senators received a sworn affidavit from Hegseth’s former sister-in-law that said Hegseth regularly abused alcohol and that his behavior made his second wife and other family members fear for their safety. The affidavit also said Hegseth had to be carried out of a strip club while he was drunk and wearing his National Guard uniform in a violation of military law.
Hegseth and an attorney for his former wife denied the accusations in the affidavit. The FBI conducted a background check on Hegseth, but ranking members of the Senate Armed Services Committee were reportedly not told about the affidavit when Trump’s transition team briefed them about the background check ahead of a committee hearing.
Collins told reporters it was “troubling” that “pertinent information” was not in the FBI report. The New Yorker also reported Collins declined an offer to meet with the woman who accused Hegseth of assaulting her in 2017. The senator contended she was approached by a “third party” and felt the allegations should go before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
U.S. Sen. Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, was clearer in opposing Hegseth before Thursday, as the Maine senator was one of the “no” votes when the Senate Armed Services Committee took up Hegseth’s nomination earlier in the week.
King said Hegseth failed to endorse the Geneva Conventions and international bans on torture. King also said Hegseth evaded opportunities to clearly express support for Ukraine and did not 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.”
