JD Vance compares Pete Hegseth's confirmation to Ohio State's title: 'Doesn't matter what the score was'

"As I learned with the Buckeyes just a week ago, when you win the championship, it doesn't matter what the score was. We won the championship on this one. We've got a great Secretary of Defense. We're proud of him, and he's going to do a great job," Vance said. 

Vance has been on a roll with sports analogies lately. 

"Hey Joe if we're doing fake s--- on the way out can you declare Pete Rose into the Hall of Fame?" Vance wrote, in reference to an infamous baseball debate. Rose, MLB's all-time hit leader who died in September, was banned from the sport for life for illegally betting on games. 

Vance, meanwhile, got to witness the Buckeyes' first national title since 2014 the same day he and President Donald Trump were inaugurated. Vance has been a proud, vocal Ohio State football fan throughout his political career as a former senator from the state. 

Vance even joked about skipping Monday's inauguration to watch the Buckeyes take on Notre Dame in Atlanta. 

During the campaign, Vance revealed he told Trump his loyalty to the Buckeyes might affect Trump's chances of winning the key battleground state of Michigan.

"But I think that most Michiganders are going to be able to put sports rivalries aside and put the country first, which is what, of course, all of us believe is the most important thing."

The Democratic National Committee attempted to exploit Vance's connection to Ohio State with a campaign strategy in Michigan in early September. The DNC flew a plane over a Michigan football game Sept. 7 with a banner that said, "J.D. Vance [loves] Ohio State [plus] Project 2025." 

However, the Trump-Vance ticket ended up easily carrying Michigan.

Hegseth, 44, a former Minnesota National Guard officer who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, secured the role to lead the Pentagon after weeks of intense political drama over his nomination and public scrutiny of his personal life. 

The Senate was deadlocked at 50-50 with three Republicans - Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska; Susan Collins, R-Maine; and Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. - joining the Democrats in opposing Hegseth's confirmation.

The stalemate forced Vance to cast the tiebreaking vote, securing his confirmation.

"It's not the first time the headline reads, 'Junior enlisted Marine bails out junior Army officer,'" Hegseth, a former Fox News host joked, referencing Vance's previous service in the U.S. Marine Corps.