Senate to hold test vote on Pete Hegseth as a key Republican announces opposition
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(WASHINGTON) — Pete Hegseth, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Pentagon, faces a key procedural hurdle in the Senate on Thursday on advancing his nomination.
The vote will occur after lawmakers consider the nomination of John Ratcliffe for CIA director. Ratcliffe is poised to be Trump’s second confirmed Cabinet official.
Hegseth’s test vote could come down to the wire, as he can only afford to lose three Senate Republicans assuming all Democrats oppose him.
If he loses three Republicans, Vice President JD Vance, in his role as president of the Senate, could be called on to cast a tie-breaking vote.
Moments before the showdown, a key Senate Republican had announced her opposition to Hegseth.
“After thorough evaluation, I must conclude that I cannot in good conscience support his nomination for Secretary of Defense,” Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski said in a post on X. “I did not make this decision lightly; I take my constitutional responsibility to provide advice and consent with the utmost seriousness.”
Murkowski said she was not confident Hegseth was sufficiently prepared to lead the Pentagon, which is the largest government agency, and took issue with his past statements concerning women in the military.
The Alaska Republican also referenced allegations of sexual misconduct and excessive drinking. Hegseth has largely denied the accusations against him, and told lawmakers he’s a “changed man.”
“The past behaviors Mr. Hegseth has admitted to, including infidelity on multiple occasions, demonstrate a lack of judgment that is unbecoming of someone who would lead our armed forces,” she said. “These behaviors starkly contrast the values and discipline expected of servicemembers.”
All eyes will be on GOP Sens. Susan Collins and Mitch McConnell, who have also expressed varying levels of skepticism about Hegseth’s nomination.
In a floor speech on Thursday, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker gave an endorsement of Hegseth, calling him the “right man for the job.”
The committee earlier this week narrowly advanced Hegseth’s nomination in a 14-13 vote along party lines.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(WASHINGTON) — A federal judge in Rhode Island has formally blocked the Trump administration’s spending freeze, saying in an order this afternoon that the funding freeze is likely a violation of the Constitution.
“During the pendency of the Temporary Restraining Order, Defendants shall not pause, freeze, impede, block, cancel, or terminate Defendants’ compliance with awards and obligations to provide federal financial assistance to the States, and Defendants shall not impede the States’ access to such awards and obligations, except on the basis of the applicable authorizing statutes, regulations, and terms,” Judge John McConnell Jr. wrote.
“The Court finds that the record now before it substantiates the likelihood of a successful claim that the Executive’s actions violate the Constitution and statutes of the United States,” he added in the 13-page decision in the lawsuit filed by 22 state attorneys general.
Earlier this week, McConnell signaled he would issue a temporary restraining order barring the Trump administration from freezing federal loans and grants, raising concerns the White House would try to enact the same policy described in the now-rescinded Office of Management and Budget.
The administration issued the memo Monday night and gave agencies a 5 p.m. deadline on Wednesday, however, a Washington, D.C., federal judge temporarily blocked it from going through following a lawsuit.
Even after the OMB rescinded the memo on Wednesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on X, claiming, “This is NOT a rescission of the federal funding freeze. It is simply a rescission of the OMB memo. Why? To end any confusion created by the court’s injunction. The President’s EO’s on federal funding remain in full force and effect and will be rigorously implemented.”
The post by Leavitt, and possible attempt to sidestep an injunction, drew mention in McConnell’s order, with him writing, “Defendants shall also be restrained and prohibited from reissuing, adopting, implementing, or otherwise giving effect to the OMB Directive under any other name or title or through any other Defendants (or agency supervised, administered, or controlled by any Defendant), such as the continued implementation identified by the White House Press Secretary’s statement of January 29, 2025.”
McConnell had harsh words for the Trump administration and justified his order — despite the OMB’s change of policy — based on Leavitt’s post.
“The evidence shows that the alleged rescission of the OMB Directive was in name-only and may have been issued simply to defeat the jurisdiction of the courts,” he wrote.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(WASHINGTON) — Since launching in 2021, America First Policy Institute has been known colloquially around Washington, D.C., as Donald Trump’s “cabinet in waiting” should the former president return to office. And now, as Trump’s second administration takes shape, AFPI seems poised to live up to its reputation.
Financial disclosure forms released over the past week show how people aligned with AFPI and its political arm, America First Works, are flooding into the upper echelons of Trump’s new administration.
Several Cabinet-level officials, including the incoming secretaries of education, agriculture, veterans affairs and housing, have worked for AFPI. Trump tapped the group’s president, Brooke Rollins, to lead the Department of Agriculture, and the chairwoman of its board, Linda McMahon, to run the Department of Education.
Rollins reported earning more than $1 million from AFPI in 2024, according to financial disclosures, and earned $560,000 the previous year. McMahon has not yet released her financial disclosures.
Trump’s pick for attorney general, Pam Bondi, reported earning $520,000 from the group last year. John Ratcliffe and Kash Patel, Trump’s incoming directors of the CIA and FBI, respectively, served as members of the group’s American Security Team. Ratcliffe has reported earning $180,000 from AFPI in financial disclosures.
Other incoming administration officials aligned with AFPI are Lee Zeldin, selected to run the Environmental Protection Agency; Scott Turner, tapped for secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development; Doug Collins, picked for secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs; and Matthew Whitaker, Trump’s choice for U.S. ambassador to NATO.
All told, according to financial records disclosed so far — and many remain outstanding — AFPI doled out nearly $2.6 million to incoming Trump administration officials in recent years.
In its first years of operation, AFPI, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, emerged as a fundraising behemoth. According to its most recent tax forms, filed in November, the group raised roughly $30 million in 2023 and spent $23 million of that.
The Texas-based group regularly hosts forums and issues policy directives in line with the first Trump administration’s vision on foreign policy, national security, economic policy, justice reform and education. It also reportedly hosted training sessions last year for aspiring public servants in a second Trump administration.
At a women’s event hosted by AFPI in April 2024, Rollins revealed that the group has “298 executive orders drafted and ready for day one of the next president.”
Here’s a partial list of AFPI-affiliated picks and their recent earnings based on disclosure forms:
Brooke Rollins, Department of Agriculture: $1,610,000 (two years) Pam Bondi, Department of Justice: $520,000 (one year) Kash Patel, FBI: (Not filed) Linda McMahon, Department of Education: (Not filed) John Ratcliffe, CIA: $180,000 (two years) Matthew Whitaker, NATO: (Not filed) Doug Collins, Department of Veterans Affairs: $104,000 (two years) Lee Zeldin, Environmental Protection Agency: $144,999 (two years) Scott Turner, Department of Housing and Urban Development: $24,000 (one year)
(WASHINGTON) — The White House said Monday a Signal group chat discussing a U.S. attack on Houthis in Yemen that inadvertently included Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, “appears to be authentic.”
Members of the Trump administration coordinated highly sensitive war plans on an unsecure group chat, Goldberg wrote in a report for the publication on Monday.
White House National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes shared with ABC News the statement he provided The Atlantic confirming the veracity of a Signal group chat, which Goldberg said included Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance, White House national security adviser Mike Waltz and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, among others.
“At this time, the message thread that was reported appears to be authentic, and we are reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the chain. The thread is a demonstration of the deep and thoughtful policy coordination between senior officials. The ongoing success of the Houthi operation demonstrates that there were no threats to our servicemembers or our national security,” Hughes said in the statement.
Asked about the incident, President Donald Trump said he “doesn’t know anything about it,” and later added that he was hearing about it for the first time from the reporter who asked the question.
The Pentagon referred questions about Hegseth’s participation in the Signal discussion and the sharing of attack plans to the National Security Council and the White House.
State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce was asked about the Atlantic’s report — including why members of the Cabinet were having a classified conversation over Signal and whether Rubio was concerned about the implications of the incident.
“Well, I have two very short things to say to you: First is that we will not comment on the secretary’s deliberative conversations, and secondly, that you should contact the White House,” Bruce responded.
Democratic Sen. Jack Reed, the ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a statement, “The carelessness shown by President Trump’s cabinet is stunning and dangerous.”
“If true, this story represents one of the most egregious failures of operational security and common sense I have ever seen,” Reed said. “Military operations need to be handled with utmost discretion, using approved, secure lines of communication, because American lives are on the line.”
Other congressional Democrats expressed incredulity and called for investigations.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer urged Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senate Republicans to work with Democrats on a “full investigation” into the incident.
“Mr. President, this is one of the most stunning breaches of military intelligence I have read about in a very, very long time,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. “This kind of carelessness is how people get killed. It’s how our enemies can take advantage of us. It’s how our national security falls into danger.”
Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a retired Army National Guard lieutenant colonel, posted on X: Pete Hegseth, the most unqualified Secretary of Defense in history, is demonstrating his incompetence by literally leaking classified war plans in the group chat…Hegseth and Trump are making our country less safe.”
Delaware Sen. Chris Coons said the participants in the chat had “committed a crime — even if accidentally” and added, “We can’t trust anyone in this dangerous administration to keep Americans safe.”
Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego called the episode “Amateur hour.”
“These are the genuises [sic] that are also selling out Ukraine and destroying our alliances all around the world,” he added. “No wonder Putin is embarrassing them at the negotiation table.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson downplayed the incident, saying, “The administration is addressing what happened, apparently, an inadvertent phone number made it onto that thread. They’re going to track that down and make sure that it doesn’t happen again.”
Pushed if conducting such a discussion on on a third-party app was irresponsible, Johnson replied, “Look, I’m not going to characterize what happened. I think the administration has acknowledged it was a mistake, and they’ll tighten up and make sure it doesn’t happen again. I don’t know what else you can say.”
Johnson added he doesn’t believe Waltz or Hegseth should be disciplined.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who faced Republican criticism over her use of a private email server while at the State Department, wrote on X, “You have got to be kidding me.”
-ABC News’ Luis Martinez, Shannon K. Kingston, John Parkinson, Jay O’Brien and Oren Oppenheim contributed to this report.
