Pete Hegseth has vowed to bring his “warrior” ethos to the Pentagon. Democrats had assailed him as unfit for the job, and his confirmation came down to Vice President JD Vance serving as tiebreaker.

The North Carolina Republican said he did his “due diligence” and deferred to the Senate Armed Services Committee endorsement.

The Senate’s 50-50 vote for Pete Hegseth marked the second time in history that a vice president was called upon to break the tie to confirm a Cabinet official.