Hegseth clears Senate hurdle and advances to a final confirmation vote

A motion to invoke cloture, or begin up to 30 hours of debate, passed 51-49. Republican Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, voted no on advancing Hegseth's confirmation, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., voted yes. 

Hegseth's nomination was dealt another hurdle this week when reports emerged that his ex-sister-in-law alleged that Hegseth had abused his second wife. 

Two sources told CNN Hegseth's ex-wife, Samantha Hegseth, gave a statement to the FBI about Hegseth's alleged alcohol use. The outlet said one of the sources said Samantha Hegseth told the FBI, "He drinks more often than he doesn't."

On Tuesday, Fox News obtained an affidavit from Hegseth's former sister-in-law, Danielle Hegseth, which alleges he has an alcohol abuse problem and at times made his ex-wife, Samantha, fear for her safety. Danielle Hegseth was previously married to Pete Hegseth's brother and has no relation to Samantha.

But Danielle Hegseth added that she never witnessed any abuse herself, physical or sexual, by Pete against Samantha. 

Samantha Hegseth has also denied any physical abuse in a statement to NBC News.

"It is disturbing that a sensitive, longstanding process used by committee leadership to vet presidential personnel is being litigated in the press by anonymous sources with ulterior motives," Wicker said, adding that he has been briefed by the FBI three times about a background check into Hegseth.

The new reporting came after a slew of reports damaging to Hegseth's character, including a sexual assault allegation that he denies and reports about his alleged penchant for drinking and financial mismanagement. Hegseth has said he would abstain from alcohol if confirmed. 

"People's lives depend on it - civilians and, of course, the men and women in the armed services - and Pete Hegseth has shown himself not only incapable of running a large organization, he often shows himself incapable of showing up or showing up in a way where he could get anything done. He is so out of the mainstream and so unqualified for DOD that I am hopeful we will get our Republican colleagues to join us. There will be a vote this afternoon."

Hegseth, who has been married three times, has admitted he was a "serial cheater" before he became a Christian and married his current wife, Jenny. 

Hegseth has made it clear that he will work to fight "woke" programs in the Pentagon that promote diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). He originally said he opposed women in combat, before later clarifying that he only opposes standards for women in combat that are different from those for men. 

"I'm straight up just saying that we should not have women in combat roles," Hegseth said on the "Shawn Ryan Show" podcast. "It hasn't made us more effective, hasn't made us more lethal, has made fighting more complicated."

Trump may have looked ahead to sparing himself the headache this role caused him during his first administration. Only Jim Mattis and Mark Esper lasted more than a year. Three others served in an acting capacity. Hegseth is more likely to align himself with Trump's goals for the department. 

Fox News' Stephen Sorace, Julia Johnson and Tyler Olson contributed to this report.