It was one of those nights in Washington where the air felt heavy, like everyone knew history was about to get weird. If you've been following the news cycles, you know the drama surrounding the Pentagon has been relentless. So, has Pete Hegseth been confirmed as secretary of defense? The short answer is yes. But honestly, the "how" and "when" are way more interesting than a simple checkmark on a government website.
He didn't just breeze through. Far from it.
On January 24, 2025, the U.S. Senate basically split right down the middle. It was a 50-50 deadlock. In most years, a Secretary of Defense gets confirmed with a massive bipartisan wave—think 90 plus votes. Not this time. Vice President J.D. Vance had to literally show up and cast the tie-breaking vote to get Hegseth across the finish line. That’s only the second time in the history of the United States that a Vice President had to step in for a Cabinet pick.
The messy path to Pete Hegseth being confirmed as secretary of defense
The confirmation hearing on January 14, 2025, was a total circus. You had Hegseth—a former Fox News host and National Guard veteran—facing down a room of skeptical senators. The questions weren't just about policy. They were about everything: sexual misconduct allegations from 2017, claims of "excessive" drinking, and even his tattoos.
Senator Jack Reed and other Democrats were pretty much on the warpath. They kept asking if he actually had the experience to run a department with a $800 billion budget. Hegseth, for his part, stayed defiant. He basically told them the Pentagon was "woke" and needed a "warrior culture" reset. He wasn't there to make friends.
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Three Republicans actually broke ranks and voted "No."
- Mitch McConnell: The Kentucky veteran gave a pretty blistering speech about how the post requires an "asset, not a liability."
- Susan Collins: She was worried about his views on women in combat.
- Lisa Murkowski: She simply felt he wasn't prepared for the responsibility.
Even with those defections, the rest of the GOP held the line. They wanted a disruptor. They got one.
From "Defense" to "War"
Here is the part that sounds like a movie plot but is actually happening. After Hegseth took office on January 25, 2025, things didn't settle down. By September 2025, the department underwent a massive rebranding. President Trump signed an executive order, and suddenly the "Department of Defense" became the Department of War.
If you go to the official website today, you won't find defense.gov. It’s war.gov.
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Hegseth embraced it immediately. There are reports he had the gold "Secretary of Defense" signs outside his office ripped down and replaced with "Secretary of War." It's a vibe shift that has some people cheering and others absolutely terrified about the cost—estimated at around $125 million just for the name change.
Controversies that won't go away
Being the 29th Secretary of Defense (or the 1st Secretary of War, depending on how you count it) hasn't been smooth sailing for Hegseth. Since being confirmed, he's been at the center of some pretty wild legal battles.
Just this month—January 2026—Senator Mark Kelly filed a lawsuit against Hegseth and the department. Why? Because Hegseth tried to reduce Kelly’s military rank and pay over some comments the Senator made. It’s a mess of First Amendment arguments and military law that's likely going to the Supreme Court.
Then there’s the "Signal leak." A group chat involving high-level officials was leaked, and it didn't look great. It’s fueled this ongoing narrative that Hegseth is running the Pentagon more like a private club than a federal agency.
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What this means for the military right now
If you’re a service member or just someone watching from the sidelines, the "Hegseth era" is defined by one word: accountability. Or at least, his version of it.
He’s focused on:
- Lethality over everything: He wants to scrap diversity initiatives entirely.
- Purging the top: There’s been constant talk about "firing the generals" who don't align with the new vision.
- The "Warrior Ethos": He talks a lot about restoring trust, though the polls show the country is still pretty divided on whether he's doing that.
It's a lot to take in. You've got a guy who went from a weekend TV set to running the most powerful military on earth in the span of a few months. Whether you think he’s a hero or a hazard, there's no denying he's changed the face of the Pentagon—literally and figuratively.
Actionable insights for following the story
If you want to keep tabs on what Hegseth is doing next, don't just look at the headlines. The real story is in the War.gov press releases and the ongoing litigation in the D.C. District Court.
- Watch the Mark Kelly lawsuit: This will determine if a Secretary of War can actually "punish" retired officers who are now in political office.
- Monitor the budget: The transition from "Defense" to "War" is expensive. Keep an eye on the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reports to see where that $125 million is actually going.
- Check the personnel changes: The "warrior culture" shift usually means a lot of high-level resignations. Watch who stays and who goes.
The reality is that Pete Hegseth being confirmed as secretary of defense was just the opening act. The real drama is happening right now in the halls of the Pentagon.