hegseth. these individuals have worked with him professionally. they really know him and his character. these patriotic americans have been willing to put their names and reputations on the line to support mr. hegseth. i look forward to sharing these testimonials with the american people. let me mention one now. it comes from david bellavia who earned the medal of honor for heroic actions in combat in fallujah, iraq. david writes the following, pete is fearless, unflappable, and confronts conflicts head-on. he is a leader to the core. when pete is confirm the next secretary of the department of defense of america, this country will know the privilege of having a true ambassador able to speak on behalf of this generation and its two decade global war on terror. washington doesn't build men like pete. combat builds men like pete. as i said, there are more letters expressing the same endorsement. today, we will hear from the nominee directly. i want to thank mr. hegseth, as well as his loved ones

hegseth to be secretary of defense. will personally urge my colleagues to vote against this nominee butd with that mr. president i yield the floor. click senator from mississippi. >> in a few moments the sentence will vote on the confirmation of our next cia director. and then immediately followed they will be vote on the closure of nomination of peter access. i'm going to vote yes for cloture i expect a majority of our senators will do o so. three months ago 77 million americans voted for change in the united states. they sent president trump back to the white house it was a decisive victory and a clear mandate to focus this nation on prosperity and peace that work begins at the pentagon where we must return to a policy of peace through strength. we are facing the most complex and dangerous global security environment since world war ii. the next few years will shape the direction for the remainder of the 21st century. it could be led by the united states a future which would lead to freedom and prosperity for all amer

hegseth. like many of my colleagues on the armed services committee, i left mr. hegseth's hearing last week with a number of unanswered questions and some peel concerns about -- some real concerns about his qualifications and abilities to serve in the role as secretary of defense. now, every single nominee for secretary of defense, from both democrat and republican administrations, have met with me and other members on both sides of the aisle on the committee before their confirmation hearings, and i voted for every one of those nominees, both democrat and republican administrations. secretaries panetta, hagel, carter, mattas, hes per, and awes -- hes per, and austin. i didn't always agree with them, but they all had the qualifications and temperament for secretary of defense, so i supported their nominations. but mr. hegseth chose not to meet with me nor any other senate democrats except the ranking member, jack reed, and he broke with strong, long-standing tradition to ensuring our work on n

hegseth. the report was made available to the chair and the ranking member, not to the members of the committee. we haven't seen the report. but we have been able to ask questions of the chair and ranking about it. the allegations that i walked through which are largely public record, the fbi didn't even interview the wives even after a mother's letter had said that you are a serial abuser of women, including your two wives, the fbi did not even go out and interview the wives. why not? i mean, was it an investigation or just a box checking exercise? a number of us when we heard that, we sort of raised hell about it. if you're going to do an investigation, talk to the people who know the nominee the best and the two wives are people you ought to talk to. we embarrassed the fbi. and so, after the fact they went out and did a very cursory discussion with one of the wives and again, i have not seen that material. i've not been allowed to see it. that should, itself, shock my colleagues and the pub

hegseth responded to those questions and not just hegseth responding to those questions. other republicans also weighing in directly with thom tillis, the majority leader of the senate, john thune, spoke to him several times through the course of the day. so no doubt. thom tillis, up for reelection in 2026, potentially could face a primary as well. he has faced enormous pressure to get in line to fall in line, but believes that his questions have been answered about those allegations of abusive behavior and the like. so that's how he got to. yes, caitlin. >> yeah. that's remarkable. great reporting there. manu raju everyone stay with us. we're going to take a quick break, but we are watching closely because we do believe we're going to see something, as manu noted there, that you don't ever see the vice president having to come in and break a vote for a cabinet nominee. only the second time in modern history. we'll be back with that moment in a quick second. >> well, you're in the big leagues now. >> how was your vacation, sir? >> well, i needed one. >> with your 10% loya

hegseth called mr. trump who was a candidate that time and i quote all bluster very little substance and again quoting an armchair tough guy. he criticized then candidate trump's in 2015 are advocating for the withdrawal of forces in afghanistan but then he took the criticism back. he sharply criticized the 2021 afghanistan withdrawal as did i but he failed to publicly comment on president trump's 2020 deal with the taliban which is what set a date certain for withdrawal in 2021 and the biden administration was actually lied to. i agree, i agree that was -- that withdrawal was not what i wanted to see. i didn't support it. there were terms of president trump in his first term set with the taliban terms that i thought gave away the store to the taliban. because there were no concessions from them on what we were to get from the united states. the government of afghanistan was not at the table in the terms were negotiated and now we are seeing the fallout of that. i know that no one is watching the u.s. n

hegseth during his career. i have multiple problems with this nominee for this position, and this position, secretary of defense, is the position that i view and many virginians view, as the most important cabinet post. let me review the reasons for my opposition. first, mr. hegseth's record, erratic, unprofessional, and troubling behavior. mr. hegseth p was married it twice before he is married to his current wife, his third wife. and in the first two marriages, there were allegations in both of serious and multiple infidelities. i asked him at the hearing when he appeared before us whether he took an oath of fidelity to his spouses. of course he did. in the same way that a secretary of defense will take an oath to uphold the constitution of the united states. but the evidence that was before us, the public record that was before us is very, very troubling. in mr. hegseth's first marriage there were public reports that he was unfaithful to his wife at least five different times with multiple other people. he n

hegseth. the fox news weekend morning. co-host to be secretary of defense. we're watching this live along with you joining us now from the capitol's julie sirkin, nbc news congressional correspondent, who's been covering this confirmation process closely. julie, we're trying to listen, as i know you are as well. can you tell us what anything about how this vote is unfolding on the senate floor right now, how it seems like this is going? we obviously saw a yes vote there from joni ernst, a no vote from lisa murkowski. two closely watched female republican senators. >> and so far it is just collins and murkowski that have voted no on the republican side of the aisle against pete heck, said the two that i'm watching the most closely, i have not yet seen on the senate floor, and that is thom tillis and mitch mcconnell. the mcconnell had made his way to the floor a short while ago and might just be waiting over there. i'm just keeping an eye on the screen here. and certainly pete hegseth can only a

hegseth. i look forward to this opportunity to talk. i want to return to the incident you referenced a minute ago that occurred in monterey, california in october 2017. you were married to your second wife, correct? >> i believe so. >> you fathered a child by a woman who became your third wife. >> i was falsely charged. it was completely cleared. >> you think you were completely cleared because you committed no crime, that your definition of cleared? you had just fathered a child two months before by a woman who was not your wife. i am shocked that you would stand here and say you were completely cleared. can you so casually cheat on a second wife and cheat on the mother of a child born two months before and utility were completely cleared? how is that a complete clear? >> the child's name is gwendolyn hope hegseth and she's a child of god and she is 7 years old. two months after the daughter was born. those were false charges. the presiding officer: the senator from oregon. mr. wyden: i ask u

hegseth denied that. trump and his allies leaned heavily on senate republicans and managed to get him through with the slimmest of margins. >> kevin: rich edson in d.c., thank you. appreciate that. let's bring in tonight's political panel, republican strategist matt whitlock, democratic strategist and judicial watch president. i want to play this quick, this is pete hegseth. people were talking about whether or not he could do the job, a qualified he might be. it certainly was confident. listen to this and i will get your reaction on the other side. >> we want world war ii was 74 star generals -- 1 -- today we have 44 4 star generals. it's time to give someone with dust on his boots the helm. a change agent. politics should play no heart -- part in military matters. we are not republicans, we are not democrats, we are american warriors. >> kevin: you have to get like i credit. he's done his time in war theaters and is now the new defence secretary. how surprised if at all are you? >> i'm not surprised. i

hegseth nomination would fail. nomination has continued to move forward, so has the reporting that has democrats and a few republicans questioning whether he is an okay pick to oversee the entire us military. mr. hegseth has been dogged by a long list of allegations, each of which he has denied. he denies allegations of excessive drinking, including by work colleagues who said he was frequently drunk, sometimes very drunk, at work functions, and that he had alcohol on his breath. even at his morning show job. he denies alleged mismanagement of two non-profits for veterans. he denies an allegation of sexual assault in a 2017 case where prosecutors didn't press charges, but where mr. hegseth did reach an agreement with the woman who had gone to police. the agreement included a payment to her that she should be quiet about it. today we learned how much he paid. answering a written question from senator warren, pete hegseth said that he paid this woman $50,000 for her silence. but new questions this week about hegseth

hegseth. again, we are going to have some more news on pete hegseth coming up later this hour. but both of these nominees for the second trump term for va and for defense, both of them have crusaded to privatize the va, which means effectively ending the va because, yeah, sorry, veterans, there's money to be made here somewhere. so we're going to privatize it and get rid of the system that's been taking care of american veterans since, oh, i don't know, the 1790s. i mean, stopping doctors and nurses and counselors from working at the va, trying ultimately to get rid of the va. this is not a thing that is a popular idea among the american public. this, i don't think, is what people thought they were voting for. you know what else isn't a popular idea? bird flu. bird flu. today in long island, new york, a duck farm that has been in operation since 1908 shut down. they had to shut down to start the process of euthanizing their entire flock of 100,000 ducks. because at that farm in long island, ne

hegseth. donald trump's. >> embattled nominee. >> to be the new defense secretary. >> mr. hegseth. >> is scheduled. >> for a. >> confirmation vote. tomorrow in the us senate. we are going to break some. >> new news. >> tonight about his nomination. this is a story that i would be bringing you right. >> now if. >> it was. >> ready to go. >> i'm not. just stringing this along, stringing. >> this out pointlessly. >> we are. finishing that reporting right now, but we are going to have this story for you before the end of this hour. so again, breaking news about. pete hegseth. very controversial nomination to be secretary of defense. the vote. >> on. >> his nomination is supposed to be tomorrow. we're going to have that story for you later on this hour. we are just finishing up the last reporting on that right now. but stick with me on that. all right. so one thing that's going on in the new. administration is that. the new president is acting. very quickly to do a lot of things that are very unpop

>> the final arguments over pete hegseth. how many republicans will. >> break with. >> trump's pick? >> are you concerned. >> that there. >> might be some. >> blowback from. >> trump allies? trump himself? oh. >> there already is that. >> there already is tonight. >> full coverage as the debate. >> ends and we. >> bring. >> you live coverage of the pete hegseth vote. and after calling to end the federal emergency management agency. in north carolina, president trump lands in california. >> i appreciate the governor coming out. and meeting me. kevin, we very much. >> when all in starts right now. good evening from new york. >> i'm chris hayes. >> we're watching capitol hill right now. where in the next hour, we believe. the senate. >> is going to. >> vote on whether to confirm donald trump's. recklessly unqualified nominee, pete hegseth. >> to. >> run the department of defense. republicans can afford to lose three votes from their own party and still get hegseth across the finish line to confirmation by. >> the skin of his tee

that's two no votes in realtime against pete hegseth. you saw more -- she is against pete hegseth. so again, most democrats, all democrats were expecting them to vote no tonight. but that's kind of where we stand but this vote is on the edge as we stand right now. >> all right, chad, stay there. we will go back to you in just a moment. we appreciate you being with us. joining us now is brett bear. brett, i am -- i have been following this all day. we knew about lisa, and susan collins. that is not a surprise. the other two votes to watch would be mitch mcconnell and tom tillis in north carolina. but i understand that he has moved into the yes column. we will find out shortly. mitch mcconnell telling one or two people. i called into his office today to get an indication at all which way he was leaning. if i had to bet, i would say no. for tom tillis, i would say yes. but we will find out shortly here. >> we will. and sean, good evening, it was interesting to see president trump as he was leaving the whitehouse today heading to marine one. he raised questions about mitch mcconnell's

hegseth. although he has recently revised his comments -- again, i'm quoting -- recently revised his statements on women in combat since being nominated, i remain concerned about the message that confirming mr. hegseth sends to women currently serving and those aspiring to join. women have served our nation with distinction overcoming immense obstacles to excel in combat and leadership roles and they deserve to know that their leader honors and values their commitment to our nation, end quote. now, the reason for that comment by senator murkowski was statements made by mr. hegseth. 30 days before his hearing about the lack of value in women serving in the military and the inability, lack of capacity of women to serve in combat. he reversed himself, would one of my colleagues called nomination conversion. and modified his previous remarks. but he couldn't tell you what caused him to have a different opinion. and in the course of that hearing, truly revealed that he continues to have that view o

she never suffered physical abuse from pete hegseth and that is consistent with pete hegseth mother'se and danielle hegseth description of the abuse in her under oath affidavit, where she does not allege physical abuse. during pete hegseth second marriage, he had an affair and impregnated a woman at his workplace and the woman he is now married to. during his second marriage, his mother wrote him this email, which became public at the end of november. it says, son, i have tried to keep quiet about your character and behavior, but after listening to the way you made samantha feel today, i cannot stay silent. then as a woman and your mother, i feel i must speak out. you are an abuser of women and that is the ugly truth. and i have no respect for any man that belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around and uses women for his own power and ego. you are that man and have been for years, and as your mother, it pains me and embarrasses me to say that. but it is the sad, sad truth. your abuse over the years to women, dishonesty, sleeping around, betrayal, debasing, belittling needs to be called ou

hegseth. during the hearing by college and i raise a number of concerning reports about it, a variety of sources, including his own writings implicate in with disregarding the laws of war, financial mismanagement, racist and sexist remarks about men and women in uniform, alcohol abuse, sexual assault, sexual harassment, and other troubling issues. instead of addressing these reports, many of which are documented and on the record, he dodged and deferred. he did not attempt to alleviate the fears that my colleagues and i have that there is material and appendages in his personal history that could be used by adversaries to try to influence him come to try to deflect him him his sworn obligations to the united states. and, frankly, to embarrass him as secretary of defense. these reports are unlike anything we have seen for a nominee of this importance. and if they are confirmed that undermine his ability to be an effective leader. as i've said for months, it is critical the fbi and the trump tra

that samantha hegseth, pete hegseth, the second. >> wife. >> spoke with. >> the fbi regarding pete hegseth. >> and. >> gave them a prepared. statement that said she. >> has. >> had and continues to have. he he has had and continues to have a problem with alcohol abuse. pete hegseth says he no longer has a. problem with alcohol. >> abuse. >> and samantha. >> hegseth set and said in. >> a statement. >> as we've already said. repeatedly on this program, many, many times that she has said, pete hegseth has not physically abused her. the issue of abuse in the in the second marriage case has never been an issue of physical abuse. no one has alleged that it is possible that some of the republican senators who voted to limit debate might still be undecided about how they will vote on the nomination. for example, senator mitch mcconnell. >> has. >> not indicated how he will vote on the nomination if pete hegseth loses, one more republican senator than the vice president will have to cast the tie breaking vote in the senate. and if pete hegseth loses, two more republican senators between now and the

hegseth ex-wife.ot be commenting on her marriage to pete beyond saying, quote, there was no physical abuse in my marriage. nbc news further reports that as part of their divorce, both pete hegseth and his second ex-wife signed a court document that said neither parent claimed to be a victim of domestic abuse. asked for comment by nbc news, an attorney for pete hegseth denied that he was ever abusive to his ex-wife. the attorney said in part that mr. hegseth, his ex-wife, quote, was. excuse me. has never alleged that there was any abuse. she signed court documents acknowledging there was no abuse and recently reaffirmed the same during her fbi interview. now, this is hardly the first time pete hegseth has faced and denied very concerning allegations. allegations concerning enough to, like, conceivably threaten his fox news job, let alone his secretary of defense nomination. in november, we learned through his attorney that mr. hegseth had paid off a woman who accused him of sexually assaulting her in 2

hegseth. is pete hegseth really the best the republicans have to offer? how low, how low has this party come in making him the nominee? i don't believe he is the best. i don't believe he is close to the best. i will be voting with complete conviction, no. it is a risky roll of the dice that americans cannot afford, especially in such an important position. another of these pantheon of nominees -- not all are awful, but too many are -- is russell vought. with his nomination to be omb director, donald trump has made it official -- project 2025 is coming to the white house. the man who was the chief cook and bottle washer for 2025, who pushed it, who endorsed it is now in one of the most powerful and sensitive positions in the government, omb, which has a say over all government programs. golden age? it's sure not going to be a golden age for the american people if mr. vought becomes the head of omb. it's one of the most important agencies in the government. they oversee every federal agency, eve

hegseth, former sister in law.yed to the fbi, but then somehow they never made it to senators, except just now, upon invitation from senator reid, that the senate sister in law should talk to the committee directly. what happened here? well, it's clear. >> that the fbi. >> did not. >> do a thorough job in. >> tracking down. >> all of the stories about. >> drinking and all of. >> the stories about sexual abuse. it's obvious, in part because we have a file of different from different people, and. >> the fbi report. >> just hasn't. really covered everything. >> and that's clear. >> now with the former sister. >> in law. >> but understand this about it, rachel, when people are talking about what what. >> did we learn. >> with this affidavit? >> it's all the same pattern. >> it's story after story after story after story about drunk. and i don't mean, you know, a couple of drinks before dinner, i. mean drunk. i mean, the kind of drunk where standing outside a hotel and. peeing drunk. i mean, someone had to get you upsta

, the former sister in law of samantha hegseth and pete hegseth, has given to the committee., katie, except for one, to nbc news, in which she said solely that she denied that there was any physical abuse that occurred during her marriage. she said that would be her only statement and asked us to please respect her privacy. there is a lot of room to acknowledge what else, danielle hegseth has said in her affidavit that goes beyond and is other than physical abuse. in fact, even the things in her affidavit that sort of touch on or hint at physical abuse don't actually say that samantha hegseth experienced it. what she says is that samantha hegseth, for example, told her that she was so afraid of pete hegseth that at one point she hid in her closet. she also says that they had a safe word, meaning samantha hegseth had a safe word with some of her friends and family so that, if necessary, she could develop an escape plan. and the reason that matters is because samantha hegseth very carefully worded, terse denial could possibly be explained by a document that i discovered yesterd

pete hegseth ex-wife, samantha hegseth. spoke to the fbi. ex-husband and gave them a prepared statement saying he had and continues to have a problem. with alcohol abuse. that's according to two sources who spoke to our colleagues, julie sirkin and sarah fitzpatrick. headset's team denies all of those allegations from samantha hegseth, and said the claims are, quote, clearly and obviously false to any objective viewer. >> ana. >> okay. sahil kapur, thank you. keep us posted. if there is any new development that should shake loose during this hour. joining us now is former senior republican congressional advisor reena shah and former clinton adviser richard goodstein. and reena, as far as the white house is concerned, the matter is closed. but there are still republicans like tom tillis seeking out more details. i just wonder if some of the on the fence republicans feel like this vote is being rushed or rammed through. could it backfire for president trump? >> well. >> that is what. >> i'm hearing right now from republicans who feel sort of l

pete hegseth checks there. there is no box that is checked next to the name pete hegseth.doesn't meet any of the qualifications for this. you know, other than being a fox news weekend morning co-host, i guess, which maybe is all you need. >> it seems to be good enough for the trump standard of, you know, if you're on fox news, that meets his standard. right. >> thank you lawrence. >> thank you rachel. >> thank you. >> well, it doesn't have to be this way. it really doesn't. the united states senate doesn't have to be confronted with the worst presidential nominees in history for senate confirmation. and donald trump himself proved that today that it doesn't have to be this way. when donald trump's choice for cia director, john ratcliffe, was confirmed by the united states senate, 74 to 25 cia directors before the trump era used to be routinely confirmed unanimously, but 74 to 25 is as solid a vote as you can expect for a trump nominee. 21 democratic senators, 21, are betting that john ratcliffe will be at least okay as a cia director. that's all. a yes vote means you votin

the things that hegseth. >> hegseth does when he's secretary. >> of defense. >> and david chalian, hegseth advanced in this procedural vote today, 51 to 49. it was close 51 to 49. are you expecting similar narrow margins for trump's other very controversial picks, including rfk jr.. kash patel and tulsi gabbard? >> well, certainly, i think rfk jr. and tulsi gabbard, the sort of former democrats now being appointed to these roles in the trump administration, are ones to watch. i don't know if their vote will be as close. most notably, i would say watch the tulsi gabbard space. there's a lot of rumblings of discomfort about her in republican ranks. whether that will amount to four republican senators jumping ship. i don't think we know that yet, but but clearly she has a confirmation fight on her hands as well. and the rfk jr.. one wolf, you know, he may end up getting a sort of cross section, and it may not be a cleanly across party lines. when his confirmation goes up for a vote, he still, of course, we're going to wait to see his hearings take place. so there's more work to do for the tru

hegseth. >> but the a word from senator murkowski that she is not going to is likely not that surprising to most people here at the white house. we've not seen an official comment from them since she has come out saying she would not support him, but they know that the math is still on their side, even if narrowly. it would take four republican senators to decide to vote against him. for jd vance, the vice president, to break the tie, he would still be confirmed. i think the bigger question here is, is she going to be alone? or is senator susan collins going to join in with her and vote against, as often happens? but we know that some of the biggest questions about the nomination of pete hegseth have already been answered. after his confirmation hearing, when iowa senator joni ernst, of course, a combat veteran herself who had questions about the conduct of pete hegseth, she said she was voting yes. now, if she would change her mind, which there's no indication of that at all. despite some of

, sister in law, danielle hegseth. they were concerned about his nomination even before that. his drinking, his alcohol abuse, how he mismanaged funds at veterans organizations, how he potentially created toxic workplace environments where he worked. these are all things that senators have been hearing from. there have been intermediaries and whistleblowers that have been reaching out to try and share their experiences with pete hegseth, but just susan collins and lisa murkowski voting with presumably all 47 democrats against him, will not do much to change the outcome of tonight's vote if it remains the same as it was yesterday, 51 to 49. he will get through. the question is, are there any other republicans that will join him? i've been talking to in my reporting, and there are a couple that are on the fence, both for national security reasons, concerns, just like senator warren laid out, that he is not the right man to lead the defense department at this current juncture. by the way, the biggest federal agency, but a

samantha hegseth, pete hegseth, second wife. so we'll see what those senators end up saying. yvonne, there's a lot of other things happening today. obviously, there's a ton happening. one of the things is the republican leadership going to the white house. this is the majority leader, john thune, and the speaker of the house, mike johnson. what's that meeting going to entail? >> it's going to be. >> imperative for both of those men to not only have that direct line of communication with president trump, but also to get assurance from him as to the priorities that he has legislatively, the order in which those priorities are, you know, sought after and focused on up on capitol hill. because if you look back to just last month during the transition period, of course, donald trump was at the army-navy football game with john thune and with speaker johnson. and just two days later, elon musk and then president elect trump blew up the continuing resolution. that short term spending deal to keep the government budget ongoing. and you look, just in the last couple of weeks, there is

we defence secretary pete hegseth would to be?— defence secretary pete hegseth would to be?would to be? we know trump sees him as a disruptor_ would to be? we know trump sees him as a disruptor but _ him as a disruptor but disruption comes in many different forms.— disruption comes in many different forms. this is a man who will be — different forms. this is a man who will be an _ different forms. this is a man who will be an instrument - different forms. this is a man who will be an instrument ofl who will be an instrument of change in a department donald trump long railed against. and long been suspicious of, his former defence secretary had his portrait removed atjust a couple days after donald trump took office. that is the sort of opposition donald trump has for the establishment in the pentagon. this agent of change pete hegseth purports to be will be regarded with some suspicion by the old guard at the pentagon as he takes up his office. there will be many in his own party also when i now have serious doubts about what he intends to do with that department for superma

samantha hegseth at times. feared for her safety and had a code word in case she needed to get away. >> from her husband. >> pete hegseth has denied the allegations, and his ex-wife, samantha hegseth, told nbc news there was no physical abuse in my marriage. but sources also tell cnn that samantha hegseth recently gave a new statement to the fbi regarding. concerns about hegseth drinking. he has repeatedly denied having a drinking problem. he's also said he wouldn't drink as defense secretary, but refused to say whether he would resign in case he did drink. >> will you resign. >> as secretary of. >> defense if you drink. >> on the job. >> which is. >> a 24 over seven position? >> i've made this commitment on. >> behalf of. >> will you resign. >> as. >> secretary of defense? >> i've made this commitment. >> on behalf. >> of the men and women i'm serving. >> i'm not. >> because it's the most. important deployment. >> of hearing. an answer to. >> my questions. >> cnn has also previously reported on an accusation o

give hegseth a chance. as far as trump appointing him because he knows he will do what he wants him to do, well, yeah. we don't want to be here in a deadlock. we have to move forward. i believe we will. i disagree with several of our callers in. i think hegseth will do good. he may need a little guidance. but you hear he has backing from our military people that know what it takes out there in the field. i'm giving him a heads up. host: that was wanita in west virginia. steve in texas on the line for former military. good morning, steve. caller: hello? host: i'm sorry. i punched the wrong line. let's go to steve in texas. good morning, steve. caller: good morning. i am in texas, next to the former fort hood, which many people in texas are proud of. herein central texas or in this particular area, we all get along. people talking about racism and pete hegseth being a racist, he's former military. in the military, you have to be colorblind. when you are in combat with other soldiers. that's the attitude, the

pete hegseth in jeopardy. republican leaders at this hour unsure if they have the votes to confirm trump's embattled defense secretary, pete hegseth. that vote is expected to take place in less than two hours, and president trump can only afford to lose three republican senators and still pull this off. and as of this moment, two republicans are confirmed knows they are senator susan collins and lisa murkowski. but now there is growing concern and question among republicans that there could be two more senators, mitch mcconnell and thom tillis. both men have not said publicly how they intend to vote after expressing reservations about hegseth. and if they do vote against him, this will be the first time in 36 years that a defense secretary nominee has failed on a confirmation vote. hegseth has faced a slew of allegations that have been dogging him since he was tapped to lead the defense department, including an alleged sexual assault, which he has denied. donald trump's vice president, jd vance, is on standby

we spoke with the attorney for samantha hegseth and for daniel hegseth, and they gave us the same statements they provided to nbc news. it is really disturbing about this, i don't know if you've had a chance or c-span had a chance to see that yet. it's one of the most disturbing documents i've read in a really long time. if you have a spouse that according to the allegations needs a comfort or safe word to be able to communicate safely to your family member to help her get out of the house, i don't know how that can just -- i realize that the secretary of confirm has denied these allegations, but that seems like a very far-fetched thing to just make up. a lot of the other allegations in this affidavit kind of a line with some of the reporting we've seen over the last weeks and months of incidences of problematic drinking and some of the things that the incoming secretary of defense, if confirmed, was alleged to say. we were just talking about sexual assault in the military in one of the most disturbing things to me in the affidavit was an allegation that under the influence of alcohol, he wa

that's what pete hegseth is. security advisor and your former colleague on the armed services committee, mike waltz, sent home 160 national security council aides this week as they conduct a review of personnel. and a source tells nbc news the goal is to ensure the nsc is staffed with individuals committed to fulfilling president trump's agenda. you released a statement. give me your response to this news. now, alex, let me let me be fair here, because mike waltz actually, i believe is a good american. he's a good veteran. he served honorably and he knows the right thing to do here. but again, he's just caving to donald trump. it is not safe for our nation to send home all the national security staff, especially during a presidential transition when we don't have all the formal folks installed yet, and therefore the staff that works behind the scenes every single day to keep our nation safe, to respond to crises, to anticipate things that are coming, you know, to say that, oh, you know, there's going to be a miss

secretary hegseth. on the rest of us, no american defense secretary has ever received this level of senate opposition to their confirmation. why did trump do this? this could have been a layup. marco rubio sailed through his confirmation in the united states senate unanimously, despite the fact that half of that house doesn't share marco rubio's views on a lot of things. do you think senators collins and murkowski and all democrats would have opposed the defense secretary nominee, joni ernst, or the defense secretary nominee, tom cotton? so why pete hegseth, was it just to show that donald trump can force republican senators to bend to his will, even on the worst nominees? this could be a win the battle, but lose the war situation? literally. trump doesn't have that kind of political capital to spare. the president, who claims he got a landslide landslide won with 49% of the vote. 50% of american voters voted for someone else. he starts his presidency with 47% approval, according to a new reuters poll.

we saw that with pete hegseth this past time.t a may struggle, rfk jr., perhaps tulsi gabbard? >> and likely kash patel. all those hearings have been scheduled over the next two weeks, i think those are likely the three ute standing hearings that you're going to -- outstanding hearings that you're going to see issues not just from democrat, but also republican concerns for some of their past statements and past views. but the vast majority of these cabinet secretaries are moving through the process quickly. this is, again, faster than we saw during the biden first administration in terms of timing with these nominees. so democrats just want the process to to play out, get the full information, get the background checks and get those hearings through expeditiously. mike: all right. from politico, republicans plan a slew of reconciliation with meetings at their florida retreat. your thoughts. >> we need to be clear that this is donald trump's congress, this is donald trump's government. we've already seen him in charge of the congr

we have seen pete hegseth's confirmation hearing and vote in committee.ne of the key holdouts, joni ernst from iowa, announced she would support pete hegseth after that hearing. there are still a few outliers who have not said where they leaned one way or another, lisa murkowski cut mitch mcconnell, and todd young. if all four of those republicans vote against pete hegseth, he will not be able to be confirmed as defense secretary in the margins, but i think it is a question of will those four ultimate lee vote against him. the other folks are pretty locked in. they said they are going to support him and i do not know they would backtrack on that after reading this affidavit. it is a possibility but it is unlikely and i think folks are going to be asking, did we receive this information too late? host: you had a chance to talk to speaker johnson about president trump's january 6 pardons. what did he tell you? guest: he said he has not had an ability to review it yet. he did not have a specific reaction, sort of deflecting the question to not comment. we wi

law, danielle hegseth.cnn has obtained a copy of that affidavit, which reads in part from danielle hegseth. quote i have chosen to come forward publicly at significant personal sacrifice because i am deeply concerned by what pete hegseth confirmation would mean for our military and our country. now, in this sworn statement, danielle hegseth also said that samantha hegseth at times feared for her safety and had a code word if she needed help to get away from her husband. danielle hegseth says samantha used the code word in a text to her in either 2015 or 2016. now an attorney for hegseth denies the allegation. but let's talk about this. joining us right now is a member of the senate armed services committee, democratic senator tim kaine of virginia. senator, thank you for being here. what is your reaction to this new allegation? >> kate, it's completely consistent with other material that the committee had. >> available to us and other witnesses who have come forward, who have shared their own experiences, t

hegseth. is pete hegseth really the best the republicans have to offer? how low, how low has this party come in making him the nominee? i don't believe he is the best. i don't believe he is close to the best. i will be voting with complete conviction, no. it is a risky roll of the dice that americans cannot afford, especially in such an important position. another of these pantheon of nominees -- not all are awful, but too many are -- is russell vought. with his nomination to be omb director, donald trump has made it official -- project 2025 is coming to the white house. the man who was the chief cook and bottle washer for 2025, who pushed it, who endorsed it is now in one of the most powerful and sensitive positions in the government, omb, which has a say over all government programs. golden age? it's sure not going to be a golden age for the american people if mr. vought becomes the head of omb. it's one of the most important agencies in the government. they oversee every federal agency, every town, every locality, every family is is going to be affecte

on hegseth. murkowski's grievances with hegseth are very notable. doubts, his basic qualifications and judgment, past opposition that he's had to women serving in combat, allegations of financial mismanagement, sexual assault. excessive drinking, all of which he. >> denies, as. >> well as infidelity. >> in his past, which he does not deny. there are some republicans. >> who sounded skeptical at first, like senator joni ernst, but she's now a yes. i talked yesterday to senator roger wicker, the chairman of the armed services committee. he said he's not surprised. he understands why collins and murkowski are voting against hegseth. but he's ironclad, in his view, that hegseth is the right man for this job. >> well. >> the white house also seems like they're doing their unofficial whip counts because as trump was leaving the white house just in the last few hours, he seemed to think that in addition to murkowski and collins, that mcconnell was also someone likely to vote no. he's also on our list. but ultimately, we will see how this vote shakes out la