The U.S. Senate voted to confirm Pete Hegseth as secretary of defense on Jan. 24, 2025. The Senate voted 51-50 in favor of his nomination with Vice President J.D. Vance (R) casting the first tie-breaking vote of his vice presidency in favor of Hegseth’s confirmation. This was the third member of President Donald Trump’s (R) Cabinet confirmed in his second presidential term. 

Trump announced on November 12, 2024, that he had selected Hegseth as his nominee for secretary of defense. Trump said of Hegseth’s nomination, “Pete has spent his entire life as a Warrior for the Troops, and for the Country. Pete is tough, smart, and a true believer in America First. With Pete at the helm, America’s enemies are on notice – Our Military will be Great Again, and America will Never Back Down.” The Senate Armed Services Committee held a confirmation hearing for Hegseth on January 14, 2025, and voted 14-13 to advance his nomination.

From 2016 to 2024, Hegseth was the co-host of FOX & Friends Weekend on the Fox News Channel. From 2002 to 2021, Hegseth served in the Army National Guard. During his tenure, Hegseth was deployed overseas three times serving as a security platoon at Guantanamo Bay, an infantryman in Iraq, and a counterinsurgency instructor in Afghanistan. While serving in the military, Hegseth also worked for two veteran advocacy organizations. From 2007 to 2012 he was the executive director of Vets for Freedom, and Hegseth was the CEO of Concerned Veterans for America from 2012 to 2015.

At the time of Hegseth’s confirmation, he was the second of the main Cabinet secretaries to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. At this point in Trump’s first term, two of the main 15 Cabinet secretaries had been confirmed.

At this point in the Biden administration, one of the main 15 Cabinet secretaries had been confirmed, and at this point in the Obama administration, ten of the main 15 Cabinet secretaries had been confirmed.

A presidential Cabinet is a group of senior federal officials who advise the president on the issues and activities of their respective agencies. The number of officials in a Cabinet can vary across presidential administrations. While not explicitly identified in the Constitution, the Cabinet secretaries are the 15 agency heads who are in the presidential line of succession. The vice president is also part of the Cabinet.

During Trump’s second term, the following offices are also Cabinet-rank positions: White House chief of staff, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, the U.S. trade representative, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the director of National Intelligence, the administrator of the Small Business Administration, and the ambassador to the United Nations.